Beautiful Boy by David Sheff
Moderator: Zach Johnson
Monday, March 25
What had happened to my beautiful boy? To our family? What did I do wrong? Those are the wrenching questions that haunted David Sheff’s journey through his son Nic’s addiction to drugs and tentative steps toward recovery. Before Nic became addicted to crystal meth, he was a charming boy, joyous and funny, a varsity athlete and honor student adored by his two younger siblings. After meth, he was a trembling wraith who lied, stole, and lived on the streets. David Sheff traces the first warning signs: the denial, the three a.m. phone calls—is it Nic? the police? the hospital? His preoccupation with Nic became an addiction in itself. But as a journalist, he instinctively researched every treatment that might save his son. And he refused to give up on Nic.
“Filled with compelling anecdotes and important insights . . . An eye-opening memoir.” — Washington Post
Moderator: Zach Johnson
Monday, March 25
What had happened to my beautiful boy? To our family? What did I do wrong? Those are the wrenching questions that haunted David Sheff’s journey through his son Nic’s addiction to drugs and tentative steps toward recovery. Before Nic became addicted to crystal meth, he was a charming boy, joyous and funny, a varsity athlete and honor student adored by his two younger siblings. After meth, he was a trembling wraith who lied, stole, and lived on the streets. David Sheff traces the first warning signs: the denial, the three a.m. phone calls—is it Nic? the police? the hospital? His preoccupation with Nic became an addiction in itself. But as a journalist, he instinctively researched every treatment that might save his son. And he refused to give up on Nic.
“Filled with compelling anecdotes and important insights . . . An eye-opening memoir.” — Washington Post
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ReplyDeleteWhile reading this book I was struck by a few things: first, the almost "Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde" quality of the writing - the reflective "journal" excerpts were incredibly powerful and emotionally tangible - wrenching at times. However, I didn't love the almost "wikipedia"-esque moments detailing meth and its effects. If I'm thinking about the efficacy of the book as a cautionary tale, I think those very dry (and at times long and detailed) descriptions don't accomplish much more than filling pages. I don't know if someone considering using would ever be dissuaded by those pieces, understanding the chemistry or highly addictive nature would fall on deaf ears.
ReplyDeleteWith that said, I did find the personal sections to be particularly moving - and felt that they would offer a perspective that is often lost, that of support/family. I would hope that those passages would be something that a potential user may consider prior to making any decision to use.
Lastly I thought that the final section that focused on underlying causes of addiction to be particularly informative, and highlighting a particular deficiency in American medicine, and more broadly our society - the devaluing of mental health can and often does have severe consequences.
I could see this book, or sections of it being used in a health class - and I'm sure science classes could also include some of the discussion. And more broadly I feel like a school-wide learning project could focus on the topic of addiction, in which case Social Studies and English classes could find a wealth of material to bring into class discussions (potentially detailing the impact and a potential government response for a Social Studies class).