Beth Macy

❧

Wikipedia

Beth Macy
Macy in 2024
Macy in 2024
Bornc. 1964 (age 60–61)
Urbana, Ohio, U.S.
EducationBowling Green State University (BS)
Hollins University (MA)
Years active1989–present
Notable works
SpouseTom Landon
Children2
Website
Official website

Beth Macy (born c. 1964) is an American journalist and non-fiction writer. She is the author of five books including the four national bestsellers Factory Man (2014), Truevine (2016), Dopesick (2018) and Paper Girl (2025).[1][2][3] Macy is a Democratic candidate for the 6th Congressional District in Virginia.[4]

Early life

The daughter of a factory worker, Sarah Macy Slack, and a housepainter father, Macy grew up in Urbana, Ohio.[2][5] She was the first in her family to attend college, receiving a bachelor's degree in journalism from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, in 1986.[2] In 1993, she earned a master's degree in creative writing from Hollins University in Hollins, Virginia.[6]

Career

Macy was a reporter for The Roanoke Times in Roanoke, Virginia from 1989 to 2014.[7] She writes essays and op-eds, including for The New York Times, in addition to writing for magazines. In 2010, she was awarded the Nieman Fellowship for Journalism by Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[8] In 2023 she was named a Guggenheim Fellow for General Non-Fiction.[9]

In June 2020, Macy was an executive producer and co-writer for an eight episode Hulu series based on her 2018 book, Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors and the Drug Company that Addicted America. Dopesick tells the story of America's opioid crisis and the deadly role played by members of the Sackler family, former owners of Purdue Pharma. The series was developed by Danny Strong and stars Michael Keaton.[10]

In 2020, Macy wrote a follow up to Dopesick titled Raising Lazarus: Hope, Justice, and the Future of America's Overdose Crisis.[11] It documents heroic efforts by grassroots activists and families to combat addiction and resistance to scientifically valid treatment methods.

In her latest book, Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America, Macy returns to her hometown of Urbana, Ohio to document the changes there resulting from globalization, addiction, and a divided America.[12]

Awards

Macy won numerous national honors for reporting on race, immigrants and refugees, caregiving for the elderly, and teen pregnancy during her more than 20 years as a reporter at The Roanoke Times including: an Associated Press Managing Editors award,[13] The Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism, a Columbia University Excellence Award,[14] and the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing award.[15]

Factory Man: How One Furniture Maker Battled Offshoring, Stayed Local—and Helped Save an American Town received the J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award in 2013.[16]

Dopesick was shortlisted for the 2019 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction.[17]

In 2022, Macy and Strong won the USC Scripter Award for an episode in the Dopesick Hulu series, "The People vs Purdue Pharma.”[18]

2026 U.S. House of Representatives campaign

On November 18, 2025, Macy announced her candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives in Virginia's 6th congressional district as a Democrat in the 2026 midterm elections.[19]

Personal life

Macy lives in Roanoke, Virginia with her husband, Tom Landon. They have two adult children.[20][21]

Works

  • Factory Man: How One Furniture Maker Battled Offshoring, Stayed Local—and Helped Save an American Town; (2014, Little Brown & Co.; ISBN 9780316231435; OCLC 1003808101)[1]
  • Truevine: Two Brothers, a Kidnapping, and a Mother's Quest: A True Story of the Jim Crow South; (2016, Little, Brown & Co.; ISBN 9780316337540; OCLC 971462415)[22]
  • Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company That Addicted America; (2018, Little, Brown & Co.; ISBN 9780316551243; OCLC 1043454094)[23][24][25][26][27][28][29]
  • Finding Tess: A Mother's Search for Answers in a Dopesick America; (2019 Audible Original Audiobook; ASIN B07T2NSXHY)
  • Raising Lazarus: Hope, Justice, and the Future of America's Overdose Crisis; (2022, Little Brown & Co.; ISBN 978-0316430227; OCLC 1288140355) [30][31][32]
  • Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America; (2025, Penguin Random House; ISBN 978-0-593-65673-0 [33][34][35]

References

  1. 1 2 Maslin, Janet (2014-07-02). "Thinking Locally, So Fighting Globally". The New York Times. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 "Beth Macy '86 : Storyteller". Bgsu.edu. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  3. ↑ Berrier, Jr., Ralph (5 July 2014). "An unlikely hero: Q&A with Beth Macy, author of "Factory Man"". Roanoke.com. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  4. ↑ Stuart, Bob (November 27, 2025). "Going from the printed page to Congress, Macy seeks to unseat Cline". Daily News-Record. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
  5. ↑ "About Beth Macy". Beth Macy. 2025-03-10. Retrieved 2025-11-18.
  6. ↑ Discussion with the Author: Beth Macy, Roanoke.com, retrieved August 23, 2018
  7. ↑ Petrouske, Rosalie Sanara (2017), "Before Leaving", And Here, Michigan State University Press, pp. 315–316, doi:10.14321/j.ctt1qv5n1h.80, ISBN 9781609175412
  8. ↑ "Nieman Fellows: Class of 2010". Harvard University. 2010. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Guggenheim Fellowship: Meet Our Fellows". Guggenheim Fellowship. 2023. Archived from the original on 4 Oct 2025. Retrieved 19 Oct 2025.
  10. ↑ "Dopesick (miniseries)", Wikipedia, 2025-09-25, retrieved 2025-11-18
  11. ↑ Hachette (August 16, 2022). Raising Lazarus. ISBN 978-0-316-43020-3. Archived from the original on 19 Oct 2025. Retrieved 19 Oct 2025.
  12. ↑ Macy, Beth (7 Oct 2025). Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America (1st ed.). New York, NY: PenguinRandomHouse. ISBN 9780593656730.
  13. ↑ Foundation, Nieman (2011-07-18). "Reporting in Dire Circumstances". Nieman Foundation. Retrieved 2025-11-18.
  14. ↑ Rheinheimer, Kurt (2011-05-01). "Beth Macy, Best News/Feature Writer". TheRoanoker.com. Retrieved 2025-11-18.
  15. ↑ Foundation, Nieman (2013-02-26). "Beth Macy wins SABEW Award". Nieman Foundation. Retrieved 2025-11-18.
  16. ↑ Foundation, Nieman (2013-04-18). "2013 Lukas Awards go to Niemans". Nieman Foundation. Retrieved 2025-11-18.
  17. ↑ "ALA Unveils 2019 Carnegie Medals Shortlist". American Libraries Magazine. Retrieved 2025-11-18.
  18. ↑ "'The Lost Daughter' and 'Dopesick' Win USC Scripter Awards". Variety. 26 February 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  19. ↑ Game, Colton (November 18, 2025). "'Dopesick' writer Beth Macy announces run for Virginia's 6th District, setting up contested 2026 Democratic primary". WSLS.com. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  20. ↑ Macy, Beth (7 Oct 2025). Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America (1st ed.). New York, NY: Penguin Random House. p. 343. ISBN 978-0-593-656730.
  21. ↑ "& NOW THIS . . ". scholar.lib.vt.edu. Retrieved 2025-10-12.
  22. ↑ Maslin, Janet (2016-10-16). "Review: An Account of Black Albino Brothers in Beth Macy's 'Truevine'". The New York Times. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  23. ↑ "The Worst Drug Crisis in American History". The New York Times. 2018-07-31. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  24. ↑ ""Dopesick": Author reveals impact of painkillers on the opioid epidemic". CBS News. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  25. ↑ "'Dopesick' is a page-turning look at the nation's opioid crisis and big Pharma". USA Today. Retrieved 2018-08-09.
  26. ↑ "'Dopesick' brings the opioid epidemic to heart-breaking life". The Christian Science Monitor. August 8, 2018. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  27. ↑ "Shooting up". The Boston Globe. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  28. ↑ "What One Journalist Learned From Researching The Causes Of The Opioid Epidemic". Npr.org. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  29. ↑ "Beth Macy Talks About 'Dopesick'". The New York Times. 2018-08-05. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  30. ↑ Godvin, Morgan (2022-09-29). "Beth Macy's Raising Lazarus on the Overdose Crisis". JSTOR Daily. Retrieved 2025-10-26.
  31. ↑ Helmore, Edward (2022-08-14). "'Listening to the people': Beth Macy on the opioids crisis and her Dopesick sequel, Raising Lazarus". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-10-26.
  32. ↑ McNamara, Sylvie (2022-09-13). ""Dopesick" Author Beth Macy Talks About Her New Book, "Raising Lazarus"". Washingtonian - The website that Washington lives by. Retrieved 2025-10-26.
  33. ↑ Szalai, Jennifer (2025-10-08). "Book Review: 'Paper Girl,' by Beth Macy". The New York Times. Retrieved 2025-10-26.
  34. ↑ Byron, Grace (2025-10-22). "The Muscular Compassion of "Paper Girl"". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2025-10-26.
  35. ↑ Davies, Dave (2025-10-07). "'Dopesick' author Beth Macy on escaping poverty -- and then going back home". NPR. Retrieved 2025-10-26.