Dopamine Nation

by Anna Lembke

"Resettling Your Brain in the Age of Cheap Pleasures"-- We are living in a time of unprecedented access to high-reward, high-dopamine stimuli: drugs, food, news, gambling, shopping, gaming, texting, sexting. The smartphone is the modern-day hypodermic needle, delivering digital dopamine 24/7 for a wired generation. Lembke explores new scientific discoveries that explain why the relentless pursuit of pleasure leads to pain-- and what to do about it. She illustrates how finding contentment and connectedness means keeping dopamine in check. The secret to finding balance is combining the science of desire with the wisdom of recovery. -- adapted from jacket

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Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?