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Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Meth Addiction | 
| Author: David Sheff
Publisher: Playaway
Category: Book
Buy New: $74.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  99 reviews
Number Of Items: 1
ISBN: 1602529299
Dewey Decimal Number: 920
EAN: 9781602529298
ASIN: 1602529299
Publication Date: July 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
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Availability: Not yet published
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Amazon.com
Amazon Best of the Month, February 2008: From as early as grade school, the world seemed to be on Nic Sheff's string. Bright and athletic, he excelled in any setting and appeared destined for greatness. Yet as childhood exuberance faded into teenage angst, the precocious boy found himself going down a much different path. Seduced by the illicit world of drugs and alcohol, he quickly found himself caught in the clutches of addiction. Beautiful Boy is Nic's story, but from the perspective of his father, David. Achingly honest, it chronicles the betrayal, pain, and terrifying question marks that haunt the loved ones of an addict. Many respond to addiction with a painful oath of silence, but David Sheff opens up personal wounds to reinforce that it is a disease, and must be treated as such. Most importantly, his journey provides those in similar situations with a commodity that they can never lose: hope --Dave Callanan
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| Customer Reviews: Read 94 more reviews...
 A different perspective July 17, 2008
While I thought the father's view of addiction on the family was interesting, there really isn't much to the book. The story probably should have remained the in the magazine-length format.
Two things did disturb me:
1. Mr. Sheff hides the son's addiction from the step-siblings until they are past the age when Nic started to use drugs. Don't hide your head in the sand a second time!
2. Mr. Sheff allows his son to travel to Europe and attend college out of state when he knows of Nic's drug problems. While it is impossible to control your child's actions, it would seem prudent to provide additional guidance when you know it is needed.
 Says what a parent feels July 17, 2008
David Sheff has chronicled his son's addictive lifestyle as well as his reactions to discovering the problem through his detachment with love. He describes well the emotions a parent experiences as they best try to help and step away from enabling at the same time and how that experience leaves you feeling.
Amazing July 16, 2008
This book was unbelievable. It was "SPOT" on to what we have been dealing with, with our son for the past 8 yrs. He is an alcoholic and fortunately, as far as I know not addicted to hard core drugs.
We have had several bouts of rehab, jail, etc. He is still struggling. He is now 22 yrs old. It was a sad on one hand and a relief on the other to know that addiction affects families the same, no matter what the addiction is.
Hitting bottom is the key, but what does it take to do that? I keep praying that our son will live long enough to hit bottom and turn himself around. It's a matter of time before we kick him out of the house for the 4th time.
I've been watching "intervention" on A&E which also shows the same details as in this book. I've contemplated turning him into this show. The other day he talked about drinking 19 beers and a bottle of whiskey in one night.....he weighs in at 148lbs and is 6' 2"!!!
 Great read! July 3, 2008
David Sheff helps others learn a lesson it took him years, and a brain bleed, to learn. That lesson is that if you let him, the addict in your family will take down everyone in his path in order to continue to experience the pleasure of his high.
It's a heartbreaking journey, but at the end of the book, the son is clean, at the expense of the rest of the family. But the father has decided not to let his son rob the life from him, his wife, and other two children any longer. This seems even more important than the son's sobriety, as the rest of the family can be saved, and the son's life seems uncertain.
Very good... July 2, 2008
"Beautiful Boy" is a harrowing, well written, and honest look at drug addiction. It will be sadly familiar to anyone who has known a meth user. Although Nic Sheff fares better than some, his life is frequently derailed by his addiction. His father (and mother and stepmother, although they play less of a role) is driven to the point of a breakdown by fear and worry about when Nic's next relapse will occur, and what it will entail.
David Sheff writes with the clarity and attention to detail that you find in quality magazine writing; I particularly liked the sections about other addicts he encountered... some of the hard luck cases living along Stanyan street in San Francisco and encountered in drug rehab programs. Nic, in some ways, is one of the luckier meth addicts. (And when you read the book, you'll realize what an outrageous statement that is.)
I enjoyed the book all the way through, although I was mildly annoyed by the slightly too optimistic ending. Every memoir feels the need to end on a grace note, and I often find that jarring.
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