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

Sheff, David

ISBN 10: 1433204681 ISBN 13: 9781433204685

Publisher: Blackstone Publishing, 2008

Synopsis

The #1 New York Times best-selling story of addiction and a father's love: "A brilliant, harrowing, heartbreaking, fascinating story, full of beautiful moments and hard-won wisdom. This book will save a lot of lives and heal a lot of hearts."--Anne Lamott

Now a Major Motion Picture Starring Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet.

What had happened to my beautiful boy? To our family? What did I do wrong? Those are the wrenching questions that haunted every moment of David Sheff's journey through his son's drug addiction. David'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 lied, stole money from his eight-year-old brother, and lived on the streets. With poignant candor, Sheff traces the first warning signs--denial, 3 a.m. phone calls--the attempts at rehabilitation, and, at last, the way past addiction. He shows us that, whatever an addict's fate, the rest of the family must care for one another too, lest they become addicted to addiction.

Beautiful Boy is a fiercely candid memoir that brings immediacy to the emotional rollercoaster of loving a child who seems beyond help.

About this title

About the Authors

David Sheff is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Beautiful Boy and Clean: Overcoming Addiction and Ending America's Greatest Tragedy. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, Wired, and many other publications. His ongoing research and reporting on the science of addiction earned him a place on Time magazine's list of the world's most influential people. Sheff and his family live in the San Francisco Bay Area. Visit David at DavidSheff.com and on Twitter @david_sheff.

Anthony Heald is a well-known film actor whose work includes The Client, Searching for Bobby Fisher, and The Silence of the Lambs. He is also a prolific narrator for audiobooks, such as The Lost World and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

Reviews

Sheff's memoir offers his side of the story about his son Nic's downfall into drug and alcohol abuse. Anthony Heald opts for a slightly theatrical performance, which distances the listener from what should be an extremely personal and emotional tale. While never over-the-top, Heald's reading is more grounded in the world of fiction than nonfiction. His vocal interpretations of characters are improbable and the dialogue comes off as unrealistic. A touching story gets lost in translation from word to mouth. A Houghton Mifflin hardcover (Reviews, Apr. 30, 2007). (Apr.)
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David Sheff recounts his side of the story of his son's drug addiction in this powerful memoir, a counterpart to his son's telling memoir on the same subject (TWEAK). While the two works may be slightly more complete when listened to one after the other, in any order, this powerful and sorrowful story of a father living through his son's meltdown can also stand alone. Narrator Anthony Heald reads at a slightly fast pace that reflects the stream-of-consciousness point of view of the book. While Heald never truly becomes Sheff, his narration is exciting and engaging--but in a more theatrical style than may be appropriate for such a personal memoir. L.B. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Edition details

• Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1433204681
• ISBN 13: 9781433204685
• Binding: Audio CD