POP PILLS is the result of an extended investigation on the use of “behavior medication“ by youths in the USA.

« When working on a controversial subject, my goal is to remain as neutral as possible. My hope is to bring to light many aspects surrounding the topic - sometimes contradictory ones - in order for the readers to make up their own minds. »

This book is a combination of M. Lignel’s photography with elements from popular culture and social media, which bring additional voices to the narrative and broaden its scope.

Over a 6 year period, M. Lignel followed 9 children with an array of pathologies (anxiety, OCD, depression, and, of course, ADHD) putting their diagnoses and prescriptions in perspective.

Portraits and interviews constitute the heart of the book and allow readers to get a sense ofeach individual’s journey dealingwith his/her mental health challenges. Some of the children stop taking medication, some take more, some add marijuana to the mix, etc...

Two additionnal chapters take readers to Mississippi and Colorado. In Biloxi, a 7 years old boy struggles with a severe case of ADHD. Four generations of his family live under one roof united around his pathology in spite of a dire social context. The Boulder story provides a glimpse of how ADHD medications can be used on a college campus, with and without prescriptions, for academic purposes as well as for entertainment.

This unique project casts an unflinching eye on many aspects of an extremely complicated topic, too often simplified and stigmatized by the media.