This paragraph from The Addiction Spectrum: A Compassionate Holistic Approach to Recovery, by Paul Thomas, MD, and Jennifer Margulis, PhD, beautifully sums up the source of addiction: Being human is hard. Period. Which is why I agree with Thomas when he says that mainstream ideas about addiction, both causes and treatments, are outdated and in need of an overhaul, an overhaul that this book neatly provides.