UConn Magazine: Double Jeopardy

UConn Health EMS coordinator Peter Canning published his latest book, on the opioid crisis, while battling the Covid pandemic.

head shot of Peter Canning

"I think most of us who read this book will get better at our jobs and be happier doing them," stated the review in "EMS World" of UConn Health EMS coordinator Peter Canning's latest book, "Killing Season." (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)

UConn Health EMS coordinator Peter Canning brings a unique perspective to emergency care. When not overseeing pre-hospital services for the expansive system, he serves as a paramedic himself with 25 years of experience in Hartford. “Sometimes I’ll read a report and wonder why a paramedic did something a certain way. And then I’ll be out there the next week and it’s like, ‘Okay, now I know.’ It’s a different level of understanding.” One other hat he wears is author. A graduate of the prestigious University of Iowa Writer’s Workshop and a former speechwriter for U.S. Senator and Connecticut Governor Lowell Weicker, Canning is the author of five books, most recently “Killing Season” from Johns Hopkins University Press. Named an Amazon Editors’ Pick for nonfiction, it takes readers on a ride-along through the street-level devastation of America’s opioid epidemic.

Read on for more.