Make It Stop - by Jim Ruland (Paperback)

About the Book

"A speculative tale of dysfunctional vigilantes, sex-crazed junkies, and corporate healthcare run amok from best-selling chronicler of LA punk Jim Ruland. Scores of detox and rehab centers across Southern California have adopted a controversial new conditional release policy that forces patients to stay until they pay their bills. And if they can't pay? They don't leave. Enter: Make It Stop, a group of highly skilled recovering addicts dedicated to rescuing those trapped in these prison hospitals by posing as patients and getting them out by any means necessary. But when Scary Gary, one of their top ops, gets killed on assignment, Melanie Marsh and her crew set out to avenge his death and unravel an unthinkable medical conspiracy that threatens to destroy the organization and cripple the city with a dangerous new drug. Melanie may be LA's best hope but if, and only if, she can stay sober. From decrepit rehab wards to beachside punk clubs, Make It Stop takes readers into LA's darkest corners, exploring sobriety, sanity, and a society hell-bent on profiting off those who need its help the most"--

Book Synopsis

A speculative tale of dysfunctional vigilantes, sex-crazed junkies, and corporate healthcare run amok from best-selling chronicler of LA punk Jim Ruland. Scores of detox and rehab centers across Southern California have adopted a controversial new conditional release policy that forces patients to stay until they pay their bills. And if they can't pay? They don't leave. Enter: Make It Stop, a group of highly skilled recovering addicts dedicated to rescuing those trapped in these prison hospitals by posing as patients and getting them out by any means necessary. But when Scary Gary, one of their top ops, gets killed on assignment, Melanie Marsh and her crew set out to avenge his death and unravel an unthinkable medical conspiracy that threatens to destroy the organization and cripple the city with a dangerous new drug. Melanie may be LA's best hope but if, and only if, she can stay sober. From decrepit rehab wards to beachside punk clubs, Make It Stop takes readers into LA's darkest corners, exploring sobriety, sanity, and a society hell-bent on profiting off those who need its help the most.

Review Quotes

"Make It Stop is demented in the best possible way."

--Los Angeles Times

"A bare knuckle, punk rock fever dream about American health care."

--Joshua Mohr, author of Model Citizen

"What starts as a compulsively readable futuristic thriller subtly turns into a character story about a woman finding herself, and finding meaning, in a deeply flawed world. Do not pass this book up; read it today."

--Sara Gran, author of The Book of the Most Precious Substance

"A scathing indictment of the rehab industrial complex, Jim Ruland's Make It Stop is an intoxicating cocktail of crime and conspiracy, set to a SoCal punk soundtrack. A neo noir thriller I found impossible to put down, or forget."

--Elizabeth Hand, author of The Book of Lamps and Banners

"Make It Stop is a zany, heartfelt, hold-on-to-your-butts rollercoaster about vigilantism and sobriety and what happens when the institutions of healing are also happy to kill you. Welcome to Jim Ruland's too believable near future of debtors' hospitals and private police. Capitalism: it's one hell of a drug."

--Steph Cha, author of Your House Will Pay

"A punk-rock thrill ride."

--Francesca Lia Block, author of House of Hearts

About the Author

Jim Ruland is the co-author of Do What You Want with Bad Religion, and My Damage with Keith Morris, the founding vocalist of Black Flag, Circle Jerks, and OFF! Ruland has been writing for punk zines such as Flipside and Razorcake for more than twenty-five years and his work has received awards from Reader's Digest and the National Endowment for the Arts.