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Most of us define addiction as a sign of moral weakness. This framing is so ingrained and so very familiar to us we can describe it in endless clichés. The mean drunk. The tragic junky. The fat slob. The zooted up executive.
And sure, we could chalk all of that up to a familial moral failing that goes back generations. But Dr. Cuomo offers a more nuanced perspective. With powerful storytelling and solid science, he reclaims addiction from the fringes of society and places it in the very heart of modern life. It is not about moral outrage but molecular scars. Not a personal failure but a biological force and societal affliction.
Dr. Cuomo makes this claim from the jump, right on page one. Addiction, he explains, is “a relentless cycle of stimulation and reward that defines ordinary life.”
In the addicted society of today, some pretty unsettling behaviors have become normalized. All the doomscrolling, rage-baiting, phone checking, Twitch streaming, social media validating bullshit. Along with classics, of course—the coffee and alcohol, the sugar and cigarettes, the endless overworking, plus the heroin and stuff.
As any addict knows, you can pick your poison and have your fun, but there will always be consequences. However, a hangover is one thing. The molecular scars etched into our very biology is another. This is not fanciful or metaphorical. Dr. Cuomo cites the latest research from neuroscience, epidemiology, and behavioral science as evidence of molecular scarring. These scars show up as inflammation, dysregulated hormones, immune suppression and other measurable biological traces. Over time, too much sugar, too much work, too much screen time, too many rosé all day brunches, or any number of cravings and behaviors can increase the risk of a consequence nobody wants. Cancer.
What this means is that our own human biology can turn a craving into an addiction and an addiction into a disease.
Crave is insightful and important. Dr. Cuomo has no trouble laying out scientific complex without dumbing them down. Chapter by chapter, he marshals powerful storytelling, empirical research, case studies, and real-world applications to illustrate the complex interrelationship between addiction and cancer as well as the biological landscape of both conditions. It is also that rarest of reads—lean, compact, no filler.
This gleaming little bullet of a book might just change the way you think about addiction and disease, health and prevention, and the mighty biology of the human body. Information and transformation. Crave is a true must-read.
About The Author: Raphael E. Cuomo, Ph.D. is a professor and scientist at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine whose research spans cancer prevention and addiction. He translates cutting-edge biomedical research into clear, practical insights about how behavior and biology shape long-term health.
Nick Armstrong is owner of WTF Marketing and co-author of Men in Kitchens: A Good Day to Dine Hard.
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