An Opiate-Epidemic True Crime Story.

Background.

Phil's father, Charles, went to college and medical school with Paul Volkman, the "Largest Physician Dispenser of Oxycodone in the U.S. from 2003-2005" (according to the Department of Justice) and the so-called "pill mill killer" (according to one Chicago TV-news channel). Since 2009, Phil has been working on a nonfiction book about Volkman's life, his case, and the Southern Ohio town - Portsmouth - where his crimes took place. Phil's work on the story began as a thesis project in the nonfiction writing program at the Columbia University School of the Arts, from which he graduated in 2011.

Reporting.

Phil conducted more than150 interviews across 19 states for this project. This included more than a decade of interviews and correspondence with Volkman, himself. In 2017, he published an award-winning feature on the case for Cincinnati Magazine, “The Pill Mill That Ravaged Portsmouth.”

The Trial.

Paul Volkman's trial took place from March 1 to May 10, 2011, in U.S. district court, in Cincinnati. During that time, eighty witnesses were called (70 for the prosecution, 10 for the defense), more than 200 exhibits were shown, and, the jury deliberated for more than five days before delivering a guilty verdict. In February 2012, Volkman received a sentence of four consecutive life terms, which is the longest sentence issued to a physician convicted of drug-dealing during the entire American opiate epidemic.

The FOIA Lawsuit.

In March of 2015, with the help of the Rhode Island ACLU and two pro bono attorneys Phil sued the Drug Enforcement Administration, demanding the release of the Volkman trial evidence. In 2016, U.S. District Court Judge Jack McConnell ruled in Phil’s favor. In 2017, the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued a 2-1 ruling reversing that decision.

The Publisher.

In April 2021, Phil signed a contract with Steerforth Press to publish this book. He spent the ensuing two years completing his reporting and writing. The book was released on April 9, 2024.

What People Are Saying.

“After discovering his father’s one-degree-of-separation from Dr, Paul Volkman — the infamous ‘Pill Mill Killer’ sentenced to four consecutive life terms for his leading role in the country’s deadly opioid epidemic — journalist Phil Eil plunged into an investigation of the sensational case. The result is this eye-opening, immensely readable work of first-person reportage. Told at a galloping pace, his book not only takes the reader inside the seamy but highly lucrative world of cash-on-the-barrelhead painkiller prescribers but explores the mindset of a once-promising physician who — even while persuading himself that he was relieving his patients of suffering — turned himself into a dispenser of death.”

--Harold Schechter, author of The Serial Killer Files

“Prescription for Pain offers an intimate exploration into the life and mindset of one of the nation’s most prolific opioid prescribers. Like a painkiller-epidemic version of Walter White, a long list of resentments drives Dr. Paul Volkman, including beefs with his family, former bosses, malpractice lawyers, and his more-accomplished med-school classmates. Employing crisp and bracing language, author Philip Eil’s book draws upon voluminous research and years of interviews and correspondence with Volkman and many others. Eil bends over backward to give Volkman his say, but the resulting portrait is no less damning for it."

-- John Temple, author of American Pain: How a Young Felon and His Ring of Doctors Unleashed America's Deadliest Drug Epidemic

“Eil's impeccable investigative skills and unshakeable integrity anchor the reader through this haunting account of a seminal pill mill case. Subtle and immersive, Prescription for Pain does not shy away from the disintegration of Dr. Volkman's humanity; nevertheless, Eil succeeds in capturing the flickers of life, love, and hope left in Volkman's wake."

--Charlotte Bismuth, author of Bad Medicine: Catching New York's Deadliest Pill Pusher.

“A feat of reporting and empathy, Eil unravels a mystery: how did a once-promising physician end up a convicted killer? Prescription for Pain is the best of what true crime can be: attempting to understand violence while centering victims and impact. Comprehensive and impressively researched, Prescription for Pain untangles with a fine-tooth comb the devastation that descended upon Portsmouth, Ohio at the hands of Dr. Volkman. A profound achievement and important contribution to the literature of the opioid epidemic.”

--Elizabeth Greenwood, author of Playing Dead: A Journey Through the World of Death Fraud

“Prescription for Pain is true crime at its finest: a genre-expanding, ethical, and rigorous examination of criminality and unintended murder which enlarges our understanding of American despair. This deeply-researched narrative transforms the sprawling story of one corrupt and delusional doctor into a compelling read that grapples with issues of the limits of medical responsibility, the duty of care, and the ‘problem from hell’ that is drug addiction. Resisting the urge to diagnose or categorize Paul Volkman as just another narcissist or sociopath, Eil instead allows Volkman himself to show the reader who he really is: a dangerous and extremely powerful man who defies easy description.”

--Jean Murley, author of The Rise of True Crime: 20th-Century Murder and American Popular Culture

Publicity Contact.

Chip Fleischer at Steerforth Press: chip@steerforth.com