The Addiction Inoculation: Raising Healthy Kids in a Culture of Dependence

A supportive and useful guide for parents and educators who want to understand the roots of substance abuse, identify who is most at risk, and implement practical steps for prevention.

“Take your blinders off and let the wise and beloved Jessica Lahey show you precisely how to protect your kids from the allure of substance abuse. . . . Compelling, compassionate, and comprehensive, this is the definitive how-to on a topic we ignore at our peril.” —Julie Lythcott-Haims, author of How to Raise an Adult

“This book is going to help a lot of people.”—Jenny Lawson, author of Furiously Happy

Jessica Lahey was born into a family with a history of alcoholism and drug abuse. Despite her desire to thwart her genetic legacy, she became an alcoholic and didn’t find sobriety until her early forties. Having worked as a teacher in substance abuse programs for teens, and seen firsthand the perils of addiction, Jessica was determined to inoculate her two adolescent sons against their most dangerous inheritance.

According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, teen drug addiction is the nation’s largest, most costly preventable health problem, and can affect any child. Yet too many parents find it hard to talk to their kids about drugs and alcohol. The Addiction Inoculation is a comprehensive resource parents, teachers, coaches, and pediatricians can use to prevent substance abuse in kids’ lives. Lahey provides evidence-based strategies and practical tools that are age-appropriate and actionable—from navigating a child’s risk for addiction to interpreting signs of early abuse to advice for broaching difficult conversations with children—to help us raise kids who will grow up healthy, happy, and addiction-free.