Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction | 
 enlarge | Author: David Sheff
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co
Category: Book
List Price: $24.00
Buy New: $11.20
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Avg. Customer Rating:  72 reviews
Sales Rank: 104
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 326
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.2
ISBN: 0618683356
Dewey Decimal Number: 362.299
EAN: 9780618683352
ASIN: 0618683356
Publication Date: February 26, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new, never read. Fast shipping - thanks!
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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
Product Description
Sheff s story is a first: a teenager s addiction from the parent s point of view a real-time chronicle of the shocking descent into substance abuse and the gradual emergence into hope. Before meth, Sheff s son Nic was a varsity athlete, honor student, and award-winning journalist. After meth, he was a trembling wraith who stole money from his eight-year-old brother and lived on the streets. With haunting candor, Sheff traces the first subtle warning signs, the denial (by both child and parents), the three A.M. phone calls (is it Nic? the police? the hospital?), the attempts at rehab, and, at last, the way past addiction. He shows us that, whatever an addict s fate, the rest of the family must care for each other too, lest they become addicted to addiction. Meth is the fastest-growing drug in the United States, as well as the most addictive and the most dangerous wreaking permanent brain damage faster than any other readily available drug. It has invaded every region and demographic in America. This book is the first that treats meth and its impact in depth. But it is not just about meth. Nic s addiction has wrought the same damage that any addiction will wreak. His story, and his father s, are those of any family that contains an addict and one in three American families does.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 67 more reviews...
 Couldn't put it down May 10, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
One of the best books I have read in the last year and one of the most riveting memoirs I've read in a long, long time.
David Sheff is able to portray the frustration, anger, angst and incredible agony of living with a loved one who is addicted without being self-serving or over dramatic.
Each time his son disappears, your stomach drops and you are almost there with Sheff while his worry and doubt eat away at him. Each time Nic fails, you want to shout at him and each time he gets back up you want to cheer for him.
Sheff's hope and grief come through in every chapter and you are constanly left wondering "what if?"
But while Sheff succeeds mightily in putting you in the room with him, he doesn't wallow nor does he force his readers to wade in self pity.
I've already ordered Tweak and I'm hoping Nic has all of the candor of his dad and even half the story-telling ability.
Every Parent Knows May 7, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
In the back of all our minds when our beautiful sons and daughters are born is the realization of all the evil that can be laid upon them by society and by themselves. Those adorable, cute, huggable children face step after step of hazardous life --- made especially hazardous during the teenage years when being "with it" often means being dumb.
This book is where many of us have not gone but know we could have gone. Sheff is a courageous writer.
 Disappointing -- valuable only to better understand his son May 6, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Unfortunately the father/author spends so much time telling us about his idyllic life and self-importance that he fails at a thorough and genuine self-evaluation and revelation. I spent the time while reading the book wondering if he ever really listens (treats young Nic as a little adult and repeats the same by needing to explain Nic's addiction to his four-year old) and why he cannot give his son some space (He attends an AA meeting with his son as a gesture of support. I can only imagine what the AA group was thinking.).
Beautiful Boy - don't just stare at it - buy it! May 6, 2008
After standing in line at Starbuck's for as it seemed, over a month, I decided to purchase this book on Amazon.com. I haven't regretted it. David Sheff offers an inside look at a Father and Son and a horrible addiction. The book made me both happy and sad and at times, and gave me a stomach ache because of the drug's powerful pull. It's such a HOT topic these days. For those of you who have thought about buying this book - do it!
 About a child's addiction May 5, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This was an excellent book from a parent's point of view concerning a child's drug addiction and the tumult that it causes in a family. It is very heart-rendering and makes a person want to step back and take a look at their own family so that you can identify the signs or signals that your children are giving off before they get over their heads in this type of a situation. Be prepared with the kleenexes when you read it!
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