Gwen Olsen never intended to become a whistleblower. For 15 years, she peddled drugs door-to-door and made plenty of money doing it. Her role as a sales rep for "big pharma" meant she was highly trained. No, not medically?she had the scripts down cold. Scripts?as in acting. She could counter physician concerns, misinform, and persuade with the best of them. So deep was her spending account, she never met its limit. But then things began to change. She was now taking an antidepressant and contending with one of the serious side effects she'd downplayed for so long?manic psychosis. It nearly cost her her life. Then, as if her Faustian bargain hadn't been harrowing enough, Olsen watched a protracted prescription drug-related scenario lead to the death of her medical student niece. "I'm not anti-drugs, I'm anti-misinformation," Olsen says in this interview. "People have the right to know what they are putting into their bodies and what these prescriptions are doing to our children." The prescription drug industry in this country is about nothing but profit, Olsen proclaims, bringing an insider's perspective to a growing whiff of rot in the land of "first do no harm." "We have to rein in these pharmaceutical companies. Profiteers are pushing antipsychotics on our children." She illuminates big pharma's agenda; and they don't want us well. Olsen is now a writer and lecturer. "Confessions of an Rx Drug Pusher" is in print, and she's working on her next book: "Duped, Doped, and Dying in America." For more information and resources, check out www.Gwenolsen.com. On December 2, 2004, Gwen Olsen's niece Megan committed suicide by setting herself on fire?and ended her tortured life as a victim of the adverse effects of prescription drugs. Olsen's poignant autobiographical journey through the darkness of mental illness and the catastrophic consequences that lurk in medicine cabinets around the country offer an honest glimpse into alarming statistics and a health care system ranked last among nineteen industrialized nations worldwide. As a former sales representative in the pharmaceutical industry for several years, Olsen learned firsthand how an unprecedented number of lethal drugs are unleashed in the United States market, but her most heartrending education into the dangers of antidepressants would come as a victim and ultimately, as a survivor. Rigorously researched and documented, "Confessions of an Rx Drug Pusher" is a moving human drama that shares one woman's unforgettable journey of faith, forgiveness, and healing.
Gwen Olsen is the author of the award-winning book, "Confessions of an Rx Drug Pusher," and a contributing author to two other books: "Doctor of the Future" by Dan Yachter, D.C., and the "Maximized Living Makeover Manual" by Dr. Ben Lerner et al. Gwen has also published health-related articles in the Well Being Journal, Natural News, and the Health News Digest. A passionate mental health activist, writer, and dynamic speaker, Gwen devotes much of her time to mental health and child advocacy. She volunteered as a Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for the Travis County court system from 1995 to 2000, serving as an advocate for abused and neglected foster children in Texas. A recipient of the 2007 Human Rights Award, she is sought after internationally as a speaker and media resource and has testified numerous times before Congress and the FDA. You can use the "Hire Gwen" tab on this website to schedule Gwen to speak at your upcoming event. During her fifteen-year career as a pharmaceutical representative from 1985 to 2000, Gwen worked for McNeil Pharmaceutical, Syntex Laboratories, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Abbott Labs, and Forest Laboratories. She served as a hospital rep and specialist rep for the majority of her career, educating residents in hospital teaching settings and promoting prescription drugs to doctors in various specialties, including obstetrics and gynecology, orthopedics, cardiology, neurology, endocrinology, and psychiatry. Gwen offers a unique industry insider's perspective on the current U.S. healthcare dilemma. She utilizes both her experience and insights gained from extensive sales training with pharmaceutical companies to shed light on marketing trends and illustrate how greed and conflicts of interest within the system pose the most significant health risk to American consumers. Over the past five years, Gwen has made hundreds of appearances and presentations and has been interviewed and featured on national and international television, radio, online, and in print media, as well as in documentary films. You can visit the "Videos" page and the "Media Coverage" section on this website to view some of these events.
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