Cover of Beautiful Boy by David Sheff
In his memoir, Beautiful Boy, David Sheff describes the journey of his son, Nic’s, addiction and how it has affected his family. The story begins describing the positives and negatives found within Nic’s childhood. When Nic was four years old, his parents divorced, putting him in a chaotic period of instability. Despite this hardship, Nic was able to flourish as he grew older. He became a straight A student and a star athlete who was loved by everyone. It seemed as though nothing could stop Nic from achieving anything he wanted.
However, everything changes in the 7th grade when Nic tries alcohol, smoking, and marijuana. When Sheff discovers his son’s substance use, Nic pledges to never take these substances again, but this promise is repeatedly broken after several relapses. Nic’s addiction does not truly spiral until after he graduates high school and begins abusing meth. After trying this drug, Nic drops out of college, gets kicked out of the house, and is left with almost nothing.
Alongside Nic’s suffering, Sheff also describes the pain he went through while trying to save his son from addiction. Sheff did not want to enable Nic’s addiction, but he also wanted to be a supportive and loving parent. Despite the constant anxiety and hopelessness, Sheff does everything he can to get Nic into treatment and on the path of recovery.
This memoir touches on all topics surrounding addiction in adolescents, especially the stigma surrounding the issue. Using his perspective as a parent whose child experienced drug addiction, Sheff is able to debunk various falsehoods and stereotypes about addiction. He stresses that the issue of substance abuse in adolescents cannot be ignored and that more effort must be put to make treatment more accessible to and reduce the number of young addicts.
Beautiful Boy is a powerful testimony to overcoming substance abuse and an essential read for comprehending the complexities surrounding drug addiction. After reading this memoir, readers will gain a better understanding of drug addiction and gain empathy for both the person with the substance abuse disorder and their family.