Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction by David Sheff Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction
Book Review: Very good...
Summary: 4 Stars
"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.
Book Review: a brave memoir
Summary: 4 Stars
After catching a bit of David & Nic Sheff's interviews on "The Today Show," I decided to read both of their memoirs. While waiting for "Beautiful Boy" to arrive, I read some reviews on it and some of them were fairly critical.
I was really moved by this book. As a mother, I could feel his pain as he described the anguish of not knowing where his child was--out on the street, high, or possibly dead somewhere. David Sheff was very brave in writing this book--he is open and honest when he describes the decade of Nic's drug abuse and he clearly realizes that he had several missed opportunities to possibly help his son. He owns up to some very serious mistakes and bad choices he made that didn't help his son's situation, but perhaps contributed to it.
I am fortunate, in that I have not been touched with addiction in my immediate family. David Sheff was able to clearly communicate the way addiction impacts a family--not just the addict. His memoir about the constant ups and downs, the constant anxiety, the ever present reality that a slip from sobriety is just around the corner--it allowed me to have an understanding of how incredibly awful addiction is and how all-consuming it becomes to those who love the addict.
I would absolutely recommend this book to any parent--it opened my eyes up to how easily a "good" kid can slip down a very dark hole that is nearly impossible to dig out of, especially without the love and constant support of his family.
Book Review: Amazing Book, Captivating and In Depth Look at Addiction
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw this book waiting on line at a Starbucks and bought it on a whim. I'd never read anything by David Sheff before and thought it would make some nice light summer pool side reading...it was much more than that. It is a captivating book that really gets into not just how and why young people become addicts but the effect that it has on their families and gives insight into how he coped in living through it. It is a really great book for anyone who has ever known, loved or had to live with an addict, alcoholic, or person with addictive-compulsive tendencies or anyone who has just wondered how or why some talented bright people who seem to have perfect lives have turned to drugs and addiction. Philadelphia has a large community of "street kids", homeless youth in their late teens and 20 somethings many of whom look like not too long ago they were living in nice suburban homes or going to college and I'd often wondered how or why they wound up that way. This book is about exactly that. Definitely the best summer reading I've found in awhile.Book Review: On secound thought
Summary: 2 Stars
I thought that this book would aid me in gaining perspective on the effects drug abuse has on a family, and at first I thought it did. However, after a week or two pondering the book I come to the conclusion that the author spent more time trying to glorify and justify his handling of his sons addiction than actually dealing with the problems head-on. For example, the author comments on how difficult it is for a child to grow up properly in a long-distant joint-custody broken home, yet he makes no mention of any effort to rectify the situation with his former spouse when the situation seems entirely preventable. He goes on and on about suffering about worries and health issues he incurred due to his sons addiction, but in retrospect I didn't detect a great deal of effort on his part to head the problem as it arose.
In all, well written, but too much of an effort to glorify a tragedy.
Book Review: Preventing Drug Abuse
Summary: 5 Stars
Beautiful Boy is an informative book about drug abuse. The author is a journalist so it is well written and well researched. Mostly it is the author's personal experience and the agony of having a child addicted to drugs. The author blames himself for his son's drug problems. I believe he did contribute to his son's drug problem, by not focusing on prevention when his son was young.
The author's mistakes can help you see can give you pointers on how to encourage your child away from drugs. For instance, if your child is smoking pot at 12 years old, take it seriously and get him in some type of drug treatment. The author eventually realizes that his son's school gave him the wrong advice. But at first it was easier to ignore his son's problems and just focus his career and his love life instead.
The author mentions that he told his son about his drug history. Many experts do not recommend this. If you tell your child about your drug history, you are giving them permission to use drugs.
The author does not explain how his son (except at school) is able to use drugs. Know where your child is and get them involved in healthy activities, so hopefully, they don't have time to do drugs.
It is an interesting book. I found the pros and cons and whether drug abusive is a disease informative. I still don't think drug abuse is a disease.
This book can give you pointers on how to keep your child away from drugs. Do the opposite of what the author did. Focus on your child not your love life.