Gwen Olsen – the Rx Reformer
Gwen Olsen, author of Confessions of an Rx Drug Pusher, spent fifteen years as a sales rep in the pharmaceutical industry working for health care giants including Johnson & Johnson, Syntex Labs, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Abbott Laboratories and Forest Laboratories.
In Confessions of an Rx Drug Pusher, Gwen Olsen brings together the knowledge of an “insider” trained to sell doctors on the merits of pills; the personal experience of having taken psychiatric medications and seen how they altered her life; and the deep grief of having lost her niece—following her treatment with psychiatric medications—to suicide. This book has both an intellectual and emotional punch that readers will long remember.
Robert Whitaker, Author of “Anatomy of an Epidemic
Everyone is at risk of a prescription drug tragedy: Gwen offers an insider’s knowledge of dangers from the pharmaceutical industry. Her poignant autobiographical journey through the darkness of mental illness and the catastrophic consequences that lurk in medicine cabinets around the country offers an honest glimpse into alarming statistics and a health care system ranked last among nineteen industrialized nations worldwide. As a former sales rep for Pharma, Gwen learned firsthand how an unprecedented number of lethal drugs are unleashed onto an unsuspecting public.
It is easy to disregard prescription drug deaths, medical errors, and U.S. health care crisis statistics as just numbers. However, they are not. In a well researched, impeccably documented, finely written manner Gwen Olsen has given us account of the gripping details of real people hurt by the failures of modern health care. A former pharmaceutical representative herself, the information is as credible as it is compelling. It is vital for those currently taking prescription medication to read and understand this book.
Dr. Ben Lerner, chiropractor and New York Times best selling author of “Body by God
As a mental health activist, Gwen has testified before the Food and Drug Administration’s Psycho-pharmacology committee, as well as many legislative committees, and has led rallies and marches in protest against psychiatric abuse. Gwen’s message is a call to action and a plea for each of us to step up and do our part to help create a medical system that serves all and does harm to none!
When you realize what is being sold to you as a “remedy” you will realize how you are playing Russian Roulette with yours and your children’s lives. This book is a MUST read for every American and every parent in the country.
Meria Heller, Producer/Host–The Meria Heller Show