| 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: $2.92
You Save: $21.08 (88%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:   (122 reviews)
Sales Rank: 1174
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
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
Release Date: February 26, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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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.
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
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| Customer Reviews: Read 117 more reviews...
 Beautiful Boy November 17, 2008
I bought this book a second time, this time for a friend. The story is so real - you have the feeling that you're in the middle of everything what happend. I totally would recommend that book because it' more than a story or a normal book! Very authentic!!!
Very real and honest... a MUST read for parents of teens November 8, 2008
This well written book will help many people, and I believe the author was very brave and honest. This book helped me to learn how to 'let go'..even if your son or daughter 'just drinks' or 'just smokes pot' .. this book will help you.
I want to thank the author for opening up his personal life; there is such a stigma to this kind of illness. Many small minded people can not grasp the situation and finding support (even among family memebers) is nearly impossible and extremely expensive. Nic was blessed his family had the love and resources to pull him through without him dying or going to jail.
I agree that everyday is a stressful as combat..losing control of the child you love; knowing you can't do a thing; and having the strength to know when to say no more...without feeling like you have stopped loving your child.
My favorite part of the book; is when the author found his higher power; his faith; and he learned to pray. May God Bless him for being so honest and writing such a moving, encouraging, and supportive book.
Beautiful book about a beautiful boy with a not so beautiful problem.... October 25, 2008
Beautifully written! David Sheff's writing is painful, educational and incredibly revealing. I loved the book so much, I have recommended it all of my friends. The research on meth's addictive powers alone is truly noteworthy. Sheff gives so much valuable info about the country's meth epidemic, this could very well be used for educational purposes.
I have purchased Nic's book "Tweak" and I look forward to reading the flip side of this very scary story.
Highly recommended!
 Good Book October 14, 2008
This is a tear-jerker. It's worth the read for any parent struggling with an addicted child. I cried and was left feeling depressed. However, it does have a happy ending. I hope and pray all of us with addicted children have happy endings, too.
Honest, emotive, and informative October 6, 2008
Honest, emotive, and informative, these are the three qualities that define David Sheff's Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction. As a young adult, I find this to be an excellent book not only for its vivid and eloquent writing style, but also because it engages the reader in the emotional journey that the author embarks on when learning about, trying to "cure," and coming to understand the long-lasting effects of his son's meth addiction. Most importantly, Sheff's story allowed me to see the world through the eyes of a parent for the first time: as a result, I have been given a first-hand illustration of a parent's unconditional love and support for his or her children.
The narratives of Sheff's sleepless nights in which he waited for Nic -his son- to come home, Sheff's futile attempts to find Nic in the streets of San Francisco, and the mutually destructive reality of drugs are the most heart-breaking, emotionally-driven, and tangible accounts of the book. In addition, Sheff's inner battle between his sense of guilt, frustration, impotence, and uncertainty provides the reader with a parent's attempt to uncover the reasons for which his son turned to drug consumption. The constant objective and subjective turmoil present in this book provides a humanistic touch to the struggles of Sheff, allowing his narrative to transcend his book's pages and reflect the lives of millions of people throughout the world.
This book does not only describe a teenager's/young adult's addiction to methamphetamines -among other drugs-, but a father's race against his son's addiction, against the inability to help his son overcome his addiction, and against the unwanted effects Nic's addiction was having on Sheff's personal life (marriage, job, health, finances, etc.). In other words, this book presents the reader with the idea that that a person's addiction -in this case Nic- expands to infect all of those around him or her, especially those to whom s/he is closest.
I would strongly recommend this book to any parent, but especially to those parents who are experiencing or have experienced the hardships of addiction. Likewise, this book can serve as a source of information for young adults, teenagers, and the general public, since it speaks of the devastating physical and emotional effects of addiction from a first-hand perspective.
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