The Tennis Partner

The Tennis Partner centers on the progress and effects of medical student David Smith’s cocaine addiction. The book opens with David’s arrival at a rehabilitation center that works specifically with doctors suffering from addiction, where he learns that he has a disease that requires lifelong treatment. This Prologue introduces two of the memoir’s key insights: the prevalence of substance addiction in mental professionals and the view that addiction is a disease.

In the United States, “doctors and nurses account for some of the highest rates of addiction in the workforce” (Juergens, Jeffrey. “Addiction in Medical Professionals - Addiction Center.” AddictionCenter, 2017). The high rate of substance use and addiction among medical professionals is a function of multiple factors specific to the field. Easy access to various drugs is one of the main ones. This is combined with the high levels of stress in the field. Medical professionals often work long and unpredictable hours, during which they are required to make difficult, often rapid decisions that directly impact patients’ health and well-being (Juergens). The responsibility for and consequences of these decisions can weigh heavily on doctors’ minds, as happens with David’s worsening mental state when he encounters Mr. Rocha’s case.

Along with the physical and mental stress of a medical professional’s schedule, it can also be lonely and isolating. Abraham’s weekdays in El Paso are completely consumed by his work, with only his weekends dedicated to his sons. His only social interactions are his tennis games with David. David’s schedule seems equally devoid of real connections except for the tennis sessions and the time he spends with his girlfriends. Abraham believes that this lack of connection and community is another factor that contributed to David’s addiction.

What makes addiction in the medical industry slightly different, however, is that medical professionals have a more in-depth understanding of the effects of various substances on the human body. This superior knowledge can delude them into believing that they are in control of their usage. It can tempt them to experiment with substances (Juergens). Their false sense of control can make it more difficult for doctors to recognize when they have developed a serious problem.

Ultimately, however, the prevalent view in the US is that addiction is a disease, even among medical professionals, and ought to be treated as such. Dr. G. Douglas Talbott, founder of the Talbott-Marshall Clinic, was one of most vocal proponents of the view that addiction is a disease that needs to be treated, rather than a personal failing. While he opened the clinic to cater specifically to medical professionals suffering from addiction, the institution, now known as Talbott Recovery, has expanded to working with those from other professions as well as adolescents and young adults.

Dr. Talbott’s perspective of addiction as a disease is something Abraham struggles to make sense of initially with David. Abraham feels a strong sense of personal hurt and betrayal at David’s behavior. However, he eventually comes to understand both David and the paradigm of addiction as a disease better after extensive reading and conversations with medical professionals following David’s death.