"The...true story of a team of doctors who--through years of scientific sleuthing and observant care--discover a surprising connection between opioids and memory, one that holds promise and peril for any one of us."-- How could you lose your memory overnight, and what would it mean? When neurologist Jed Barash sees the brain scan of a patient with devastating amnesia, it is the beginning of a quest. His team of doctors explored the threat that people who take prescription opioids to treat severe pain may gradually put their memories at risk. This syndrome could shed light on the most elusive memory thief of all, Alzheimer's disease. Aguirre shares new information that can move science closer to an ever-evolving version of the truth. -- adapted from jacket Publisher's description.

Preface -- Prologue -- Broken brains. Case one ; Questions lead to answers ; Person, place, and time ; Short shrift -- Episodes. The hum of the restless beehive ; The cluster grows ; No place in the world ; Maps and memories ; The forgetting disease -- Opioids. Learning to be addicted ; Extreme potency ; World of hurt ; Finding fentanyl ; Taken as prescribed -- Interventions. Some part of me is missing ; The next H.M. ; Rebirth ; Time for a do-over ; The flip side of the coin -- Outstanding questions. Finding lost memories ; The case for Tau ; The road ahead -- Epilogue.