Like Beautiful Boy, Abraham Verghese's The Tennis Partner tells the story of addiction from the perspective of someone who loves an addict. While working at a hospital in Texas, the author and doctor meets David, a medical student in recovery who becomes his tennis partner. By the time David relapses into his intravenous cocaine addiction, the two have become very close friends, and Verghese attempts to save David as he unravels into utter darkness. This book also exposes how startlingly common addiction is in the medical community and explores the support systems for addicted physicians. The Tennis Partner sticks with me in a way that few books have. — NE
