Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Meth Addiction

by David Sheff

book data

3,724 ratings, 3.93 average rating, 1,241 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		27%
4		44%
3		22%
2		4%
1		0%

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published

February 26th 2007 by Houghton Mifflin

binding

Hardcover, 352 pages

isbn

0618683356 (isbn13: 9780618683352)

description

Sheff's story is a first: a teenagers addiction from the parent's point of view;a real time chronicle of the shocking descent into substance abuse and...more

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04/24/08

Marianne rated it:

Read in April, 2008

I checked this book out of the library after hearing David Sheff and his son Nick interviewed on NPR. I found this book annoying and unrevealing (for a memoir) and yet I couldn't put it down. David Sheff discusses his own drug use and alludes to his immaturity/commitment issues as a factor in his divorce from Nick's mother which he blames mostly for his son's drug problems, but he never discusses the root of his issues (or even specifically what they were beyond immaturity) or how they affecte...more

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04/21/08

Jen rated it:

I liked this book a lot better than Tweak. The father is a great writer, and he did a great job making me feel as if I was going through the experience with him. He also presents a lot of research on crystal meth and its effects on users. I changed my rating from a 5 to a 4 after I read Tweak however. After I read Beautiful Boy, I was really freaked out about the accessibility of drugs, and the father made it seem as if everyone in the world will eventually try drugs at least once in their l...more

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06/16/08

Cathyb53 rated it:

Gut-wrenching! I read this because I saw the author, David Sheff, talking about it on Oprah, and because I have children close in age to his son; although I was fortunate enough to avoid the hell of parenting an addicted kid, I have been there with many of my friends, and with friends of my kids'.

There's nothing new in this story - the "plot", such as it is, is painfully familiar to so many of us baby-boomers as our own children reached the danger years. The strength of th...more Gut-wrenching! I read this because I saw the author, David Sheff, talking about it on Oprah, and because I have children close in age to his son; although I was fortunate enough to avoid the hell of parenting an addicted kid, I have been there with many of my friends, and with friends of my kids'.

There's nothing new in this story - the "plot", such as it is, is painfully familiar to so many of us baby-boomers as our own children reached the danger years. The strength of this story is in the author's honesty about the unspeakable, at times unbearable, pain suffered by the father of an addict as he tries to roll with the punches his beloved son gives out. I think that unless you are a parent yourself perhaps you can't fully understand the horror of seeing your child, your very own child whom you have loved more than the universe itself, descend into the nightmare of addiction: the helplessness, the all-consuming nature of the distress, the way it reaches into every corner of your life, even causing you at times to sacrifice all the good things you may have going for you - Sheff's story is so raw and brutal that I could physically feel my heart being squeezed as I read of his pain.

Because here's the secret thing: Sheff's son could have been my child, or the child of any one of us Boomers. We played with drugs in our own youth, we tried to raise our children in what we thought was a new world, different from that of the generations before us and somehow more promising - but somewhere along the way things went horribly wrong, and so many of our children have descended into a life we would never have thought possible for "one of us". It is this identification with the pain and bewilderment Sheff feels that made this, for me, a compelling and powerful work. I was lucky - my own children were lucky - and we avoided, by the grace of who-knows-what-power, the misery of addiction, but in my heart I know that with a few fairly simple twists of fate it could have been me trying to figure out how to parent an addicted and relapsing child. This book made me feel so lucky, and so sad for those who weren't.

David Sheff is an excellent writer; his ability to articulate his pain makes this book all the more compelling. He has an amazing ability to make this account NOT just another "oh, ain't it awful?" memoir. We don't need more of those! But I do believe that reading this book will bring humility and gratitude to those of us who have only had to witness the struggle as we've seen it in friends, and children of friends, and friends of children, and a rare empathy, if not comfort, to those whose circumstances have brought them more intimately into the struggle. And that's where the power of this book really lies - in its ability to provoke our empathy for both parent and child, because in doing so it enriches our connection, our humanity.(less)

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04/27/08

Karen rated it:

Read in May, 2008

recommends it for: Friends and family of addicts, current and recovered

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Book club selection for May. I's gots to get crackin on this book--I am sharing it with a friend and I have to read it to give her enough to time to read it.

APRIL 30
Uh-oh. I am finding it boring. Not bad, not not heartbreaking, but it's been expanded from a magazine article and I don't think it should have been. There's too much about the father's own drug experiences that elucidate his early denial about his son's addiction problems, true, but are written with a carefree tone ...more

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04/24/08

Joe Moley rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

I was sucked in to this book fairly quickly. Having personal experiences with addiction, I felt that I could empathize with the author. Additionally, having a teenage son just entering high school fills me with complete dread over the possibility of losing him to something like a drug addiction. Any insight in to combatting this possibility is more than welcomed.

Still, I found the book dragging on after the initial chapters. I definitely felt sorry for the situation he found hi...more

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06/18/08

Doneen rated it:

Read in June, 2008

This is a book full of millions of examples of how over-idealization of a son by his father can cause as many problems as insufficient attention paid to the child. If you can believe this father, his son was nothing short of the second coming. No wonder the son became a lying, stealing, self-absorbed addict who took multiple rehabs to kick a habit. This is a cautionary tale for parents. Okay, I just re-read what I wrote, and I know it's probably too harsh. But I really believe it's harmful ov...more

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06/15/08

Suzanne rated it:

bookshelves: adult-nonfiction

Read in August, 2008

Finally. I. Am. Done.

I swear this book took me a month to read. Maybe longer. I just could not get into it. I read the companion, Tweak, written by his son, and I thought it would be interesting to hear the other perspective. Blah. What started as an article for The New York Times Magazine, the overwhelming response prompted Sheff to write a whole book. Bad idea. It was obviously stretched beyond it's means, and Sheff often relied on random quotes from movies and songs to fill space....more

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06/01/08

Laura rated it:

Very well written touching story filled with anguish, hope and healing.

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08/05/08

Terry rated it:

bookshelves: non-fiction

I was more interested in reading his son's account of the same events, but now that I've read this, I don't think I'm up for it! Actually I honestly don't know what he (the son) would say--after a point, addiction is kind of repetitive, isn't it?--although I'd like to know if he explores the effect his parents' divorce had on him, since I've recently read another book about how traumatic divorce is for children and they're not as "resilient" and "adaptable" as divorced parent...more I was more interested in reading his son's account of the same events, but now that I've read this, I don't think I'm up for it! Actually I honestly don't know what he (the son) would say--after a point, addiction is kind of repetitive, isn't it?--although I'd like to know if he explores the effect his parents' divorce had on him, since I've recently read another book about how traumatic divorce is for children and they're not as "resilient" and "adaptable" as divorced parents would like to think they are. Anyway, back to THIS book: I don't know quite what to say about this book. My hackles were raised a bit because this family lives such a ridiculously charmed life (homes in Marin County, sending children to expensive private schools, the total wealthy-faux-bohemian-Northern-California lifestyle) and the author seems to sort of take pride in proving how hip he is as a dad and as a man. At one point he compares the drug use of his own youth with that of his son's and it's laughable. A Berkeley undergrad dabbling in pot and coke---oooo, how wild and crazy he was! And there are too many self-conscious references to music and films--arty, moody, outside-the-mainstream [vomit] works we're supposed to admire him for knowing about and admiring; and a lot of surfing. For some reason the image of a supremely wealthy father of three going on and on about surfing just seems annoying to me, not "cool". That's just me, though. My point is that the book is supposed to document a wrenching journey but the author doesn't seem to realize how he comes across to the reader sometimes. It's not until the last several dozen pages that he lets go of a somewhat stiff tone and really lets all his anguish and torment pour out, which was very moving...finally. I was especially moved by the end as he realizes he just has to let his son go completely. His son is a hardcore addict and there's just nothing he can do about it; he has to let the vision he had of his son's future just die. He hopes for the best for his son but he learns he has to literally and emotionally disengage completely because...there's no there, there, anymore. I don't know if I would recommend the book to families who are struggling with an addict (especially a meth addict) because frankly there is very, very, very, very little hope of sobriety for meth addicts, if any, truthfully. It's a topic that should be explored more in the mainstream media, I think. Anyway. A wrenching read and one that has the courage to be kind of a downer--there is no real cure or magic or happy ending. (less)

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06/24/08

Mandi rated it:

Read in June, 2008

This book for me is between 3 and 4 stars. I did like it but not as much as I hoped I guess. I thought the authors style of writing was too rigid I guess- or just too "perfect" and for me that made it lose some of the personal/emotional element that was necessary for the book. Also - the book was just all in all very repetitive - story of his life - in rehab out of rehab in rehab out of rehab - blah blah. :) It definitely had some good points in it though that were thought-provokin...more

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06/14/08

Leila rated it:

bookshelves: thought_provoking

Read in June, 2008

The beginning of the book was mildly annoying with the more than picture perfect everything. There is a divorcee, but even it is glossed over as if it is just what happens. This portion of the book definitely gave the impression that the author either didn’t want to be completely honest about himself and his life or he was oblivious to the problems he had.

That being said, once you get past the first couple of chapters the book is captivating. The author did an amazing job of telli...more

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04/17/08

Kerri rated it:

bookshelves: non-fiction

Read in June, 2008

recommended to Kerri by: D bought it, but hasn't read it
recommends it for: Anyone who's known an addict; anyone who knows someone who has an addict in their life

3.5 stars. Hmmm... so close to to four stars. A tough read, an easy read. A father's account of his son's addiction to meth (among other things), but there's so much in here that's familiar to anyone who's known someone addicted to anything. The same things that make me consider this book "just okay" (the repetition of themes, the over-dramaticism, the self-absorption) are the same things that make it so realistic and relatable to anyone who's had with an addict in their lives. He...more

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04/10/08

Bobbie rated it:

Read in April, 2008

This is a rollercoaster ride of a book. And from page one, you know you're in the hands of a gifted writer. Beautiful Boy gives the father's perspective on a son's downward spiral into drug addiction. For those of us who grew up in a time and place when the the school rebels smoked a few cigarettes in the bathroom, this book is a wake-up call. Crystal meth, Nic Sheff's preferred drug, is a nightmarish concoction that seriously depletes the brain neurotransmitter dopamine and can leave users ...more

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03/19/09

Paula Warnken rated it:

Read in March, 2009

A heart wrenching true story of a father dealing with his son's drug additions. An expansion of an article originally published in the New York Times Magazine, David Sheff, a journalist living in Northern California, tells the story of his son's addictions to meth along with other substances, and the many attempts at recovery. The book deals with family issues and provides insights into the world of rehab centers. It is an honest account of the journey of an addict, told from the perspective of ...more

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03/03/08

Madison rated it:

bookshelves: memoir, own, sad-but-good, worth-reading-again

Read in May, 2008

recommends it for: Anyone with an addict in the family.

For people close to an addict: Read this book if you have not yet realized that you are not alone.

Obviously I'm aware that I'm not the only person out there with an addict in the family. However after reading this book, I realize that I'm not alone in feeling completely confused, furious, wronged, neglected, saddened, helpless, judged, torn, and exhausted, (not to mention a million other things) when dealing with my always recovering drug addicted sister.

David Sheff repre...more

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04/23/08

Jenny rated it:

Read in April, 2008

Recommended by one of my favorite book critics!
What a horrifying story, having to watch your child deal with a meth addiction. Every time I opened it, it was like being stabbed in the heart multiple times because as a mother you feel so much sympathy for any parent who has to go through something like that. It was interesting how the author talks about how not only was his son addicted to meth, but that he himself became "addicted" to his son's addiction, to where it was all-con...more

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07/11/08

Currie rated it:

I enjoyed this book. It was a glimpse into what a parent goes through with an addict and what "worked" for him. I found David trying too hard to be "hip and cool" throughout the book and it takes away from the honesty and integrity of what he was writing. It almost came off as trying too hard to be cool instead of trying to tell his story of a desperate father. I found this book more informative b/c of his personal experience. I asked myself the question 'was he in denia...more

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05/29/08

Marianne rated it:

Read in September, 2008

recommended to Marianne by: Heather

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

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06/18/08

Linda rated it:

bookshelves: non-fiction

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in May, 2008

recommended to Linda by: review
recommends it for: anyone trying to amke sense of drug addiction and relationships

I was reluctant to read this book after reading reviews. I was worried it would be too painful, having had first hand experience with the subject matter and still suffering from post-traumatic stress from the ordeal. But it was actually a sense of relief realizing that horrible situations come up often in families. Morbid thought process, isn't it? It gave me a better understanding of the dynamics between parents and kids dealing with severe drug addiction. It eased wounds that are still raw, an...more

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03/03/09

Kristen rated it:

Read in March, 2009

This book will help so many people suffering with, or because of, drug addiction. I've already promised my copy to a friend who lost her sister last year and still blames herself for not trying harder to save her.

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"Through Nic's drug addiction, I have learned that parents can bear almost anything....I shock myself with my ability to rationalize and tolerate things once unthinkable. The rationalizations escalate....It's only marijuana. He gets high only on weekends. At least he's not using hard drugs...." More quotes...