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| 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: $5.00
You Save: $19.00 (79%)
New (61) Used (62) Collectible (3) from $5.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  118 reviews
Sales Rank: 472
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 326
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 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
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Amazon.com Review
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 113 more reviews...
 Brilliant and Moving Parental Memoir February 26, 2008
87 out of 89 found this review helpful
*****
This is a stunningly written, intense and emotional memoir of a father's struggle to deal with his brilliant, charismatic, and caring son's addiction to methamphetamine. It is honest and authentic and raw and heart-rending and fascinating. It is unforgettable. As I read, I felt many emotions for both the father and son---everything from anger to sadness to grief to fear. I felt as though I was right there on the emotional roller coaster with the author.
Even if you have no personal experience of a loved one's addiction, you will be moved by this father's struggle to cope with his son's substance abuse turmoils. Despite methamphetamine being this country's most problematic drug, many of us, including me, know very little about it, and may not initially feel too interested in finding out. However, the author's struggles and emotional journey are so poignant and compelling that any reader will find themselves caught up in this memoir, will benefit from what they learn and most of all, will be glad that they read it. If you know and/or love an addict, this book will be even more important---it will be vital---as you will find much to identify with and perhaps even be able to better process some of your own emotions.
Highly recommended.
*****
Harrowing and redemptive February 27, 2008
64 out of 68 found this review helpful
As a parent, I was transfixed by this harrowing story of a charming, intelligent boy's addiction and what it does to his family. You instantly like the boy, Nic Sheff, yet you can feel the father's pain.
The drug problems begin when author David Sheff finds a bag of marijuana in his 12-year-old's backpack. By age 17 Nic is hooked on crystal meth, and he spirals into a decade-long pattern of drug abuse. He lies, steals, lives on the street and nearly dies. His heartbroken family takes the journey with him.
At the end, with Nic in a shaky recovery, David Sheff has a life-changing moment when he realizes that "my children will live with or without me. It is a staggering realization for a parent, but one that ultimately frees us to let our children grow up."
Sheff has good practical advice in this book, starting and ending with talking with your child early and often about drugs. There is also a huge amount of information about methamphetamines and how dangerous and pervasive its abuse is in this country. I learned a lot of scary information in this book, and I'm sure it will be a lifesaver for many.
 SHOULD BE CALLED DELUSIONAL FATHER March 4, 2008
21 out of 100 found this review helpful
What do you get with a self obsessed obsiquis writer? This book... a typical marin lib that doesnt get it. Gee your son is wasted...what do you do...smoke a joint with him...good work pops.
this book drolls on with hip passages of writers,lyrics,and scientific quotes but misses every point....the father screws his sons life with divorce and lack of higher power.
dont buy the book ...at first sign your child is doing dope put them in a rehab program for at least 6 months.
Every parent should read this book February 28, 2008
20 out of 28 found this review helpful
I am the founder of Parenting Magazine. (Disclosure -- like almost everyone who has ever met David Sheff, I am a fan and friend.) So I initially read this book because I know the author, but I am writing this review because Beautiful Boy is so wonderful and important. Every parent, not just those with addicts in their family, can learn and grow from reading this book. Tough to read, at times, like many horror stories, but so moving and ultimately redemptive in a tough-minded yet loving way.
 Why Traditional Addiction Treatment Doesn't Work April 25, 2008
17 out of 30 found this review helpful
This book does an excellent job in describing the ultimate state of disrepair in which we find the traditional treatment industry; ineffective therapists, 15 minute med management meetings in which psychotropic medications are dispensed without thorough workups, inpatient treatment programs that create an artificial environment and support system that can't be replicated in the real world, separate support groups for the addict (AA) and the family (ALANON)......a treatment scheme that hasn't changed much, at least for the better, since 1938. Close to 90 percent failure rates yet little changes. Unnecessary despair, learned hopelessness, all while ignoring the basic physiology of addiction.
All because addiction is perceived to be a matter of choice. Lung cancer is predominantly a matter of choice. Heart disease; a matter of choice. Type II diabetes, obesity....all can be argued as a matter of choice. Yet only addicts and their families are asked to serve their life sentences, anonymously, in church basements, whispering their first names only until they draw their last breath.
It's time for a new approach. The approach can start with ALANON using their platform to cause people like Mr. Sheff to understand that adult decisions made during the early formative years of child rearing can have a lasting effect of the behavior of those children. In fact acrimonious divorce is a common theme in the treatment of many DSM categories. His inability to take responsibility for his actions is one of the things that keep many people addicted, The notion that all that is wrong in every life is caused by the addicted individual; that they are the epicenter for all that is wrong simply because they are willing to take on that unfair burden, is quite unhelpful.
In many ways, Mr. Sheff needs to be accountable for his mistakes that led to his son self medicating past experiences. And he must also take responsibility for not finding him appropriate medical treatment during his adolescent years. The decisions for treatment were not your son's, sir. They were yours. You have some responsibility in the failure of treatment too.
Imagine if Mr. Sheff, after diagnosis with an aneurism, was treated in a group environement without specialized medication or nutritional support that was essential for recovery. Imagine if an aneurism was treated as a matter of choice; a moral or character defect. imagine being powerless over your aneurism. Imagine art therapy instead of a drill to the skull to alleviate pressure. Apply the same standards and expect the same results: avoidable, premature death.
In all, if this book was intended to be entertaining or cathartic, then it hits its mark. If it was meant to be instructive or helpful to the millions suffering from or related to addiction, it does a disservice.
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