4.26/5
Author: David Sheff
Publication Date: Jan 6, 2009
Formats: PDF,Paperback,Kindle,Audible Audiobook,Library Binding,MP3 CD
Rating: 4.26/5 out of 57236
Publisher: Mariner Books
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Feb 27, 2008
Posted at Shelf InflictedApr 24, 2008
I checked this book out of the library after hearing David Sheff and his son Nick interviewed on NPR. I found this book annoying and unrevealing (for a memoir) and yet I couldn't put it down. David Sheff discusses his own drug use and alludes to his immaturity/commitment issues as a factor in his divorce from Nick's mother which he blames mostly for his son's drug problems, but he never discusses the root of his issues (or even specifically what they were beyond immaturity) or how they affected I checked this book out of the library after hearing David Sheff and his son Nick interviewed on NPR. I found this book annoying and unrevealing (for a memoir) and yet I couldn't put it down. David Sheff discusses his own drug use and alludes to his immaturity/commitment issues as a factor in his divorce from Nick's mother which he blames mostly for his son's drug problems, but he never discusses the root of his issues (or even specifically what they were beyond immaturity) or how they affected his parenting style -- or even what his parenting style was beyond "hanging out" and having fun during his time w/ Nick (it appears he only disciplined Nick when he was caught w/ drugs). You learn nothing about David Sheff's childhood and I only found out that one of Nick's grandparents died from alcoholism from reading Tweak. Let me also add that after the divorce David Sheff regularly took Nick to adult parties and dinner parties, treating him like a "friend." (A fact also glossed over by Sheff in his memoir but revealed in Nick's memoir Tweak). So clearly there are many more layers -- like being able to set appropriate boundries as a parent -- to this story than Sheff is willing to admit to or write about. Instead he writes family scene after family scene of Nick being this golden boy as a child/teenager which becomes annoying because clearly Nick had problems beyond the divorce when he was a young child. A memoir may be an author's recollection of past events but is David Sheff really that clueless about the effects of his own behavior on his son beyond the obvious?Nov 27, 2018
David Sheff didn't miss a single experience of having a drug-addicted son. He seconds guesses himself repeatedly. David reads about it, asks questions, studies new and old treatment, loses sleep, abandons himself of loved ones, sets apart his life over and over again. David is depressed. He makes himself physically sick. He can't turn to God. Sheff didn't miss a fucking beat. I've had this book for a year before I could bring myself to read it. I regret putting it off so long.Sep 04, 2019
The BattleJun 18, 2008
This is a book full of numerous examples of how over-idealization of a son by his father can cause as many problems as insufficient attention paid to the child. If you can believe this father, his son was nothing short of the second coming. No wonder the son became a lying, stealing, self-absorbed addict who took multiple rehabs to kick a habit. This is a cautionary tale for parents. Okay, I just re-read what I wrote, and I know it's probably too harsh. But I really believe it's harmful This is a book full of numerous examples of how over-idealization of a son by his father can cause as many problems as insufficient attention paid to the child. If you can believe this father, his son was nothing short of the second coming. No wonder the son became a lying, stealing, self-absorbed addict who took multiple rehabs to kick a habit. This is a cautionary tale for parents. Okay, I just re-read what I wrote, and I know it's probably too harsh. But I really believe it's harmful over-indulgence to so glorify our kids' importance and intelligence. To me this son's supposed brillance came off sounding smart-alecky and self-important. Plus, I don't think the author actually ever gets what he could have done to speed up his kid's coming to grips with addiction. The dad was a master enabler to the son's detriment. ...moreApr 21, 2008
I liked this book a lot better than Tweak. The father is a great writer, and he did a great job making me feel as if I was going through the experience with him. He also presents a lot of research on crystal meth and its effects on users. I changed my rating from a 5 to a 4 after I read Tweak however. After I read Beautiful Boy, I was really freaked out about the accessibility of drugs, and the father made it seem as if everyone in the world will eventually try drugs at least once in their life I liked this book a lot better than Tweak. The father is a great writer, and he did a great job making me feel as if I was going through the experience with him. He also presents a lot of research on crystal meth and its effects on users. I changed my rating from a 5 to a 4 after I read Tweak however. After I read Beautiful Boy, I was really freaked out about the accessibility of drugs, and the father made it seem as if everyone in the world will eventually try drugs at least once in their life and that all kids are experimenting no matter if they've been told that it's bad or not. He was not telling the entire story about his son however.Feb 20, 2018
***NO SPOILERS***Jul 20, 2018
3.5 StarsSep 21, 2018
This family has incredible moxie, man. The strength it would take to throw your mess out to the wolves hoping it could help a few lost sheep is awesome. Not to mention, the father and son both did it. I love that. The juxtaposition between the two books is amazing.Jun 15, 2008
Finally. I. Am. Done.May 02, 2019
Oh boy, this was not an easy book to read, but I won't be quick to forget it either. Sheff tells a moving, though deeply unsettling account of his son's drug addiction, how he as a father coped with it, and how it affected his family. I'll need a while to really digest Beautiful Boy, but I do want to read the son's account, (Tweak by Nic Sheff), to try to understand the experience from his view. The point Sheff got across was just how hard it is to help someone with addiction, how draining it is Oh boy, this was not an easy book to read, but I won't be quick to forget it either. Sheff tells a moving, though deeply unsettling account of his son's drug addiction, how he as a father coped with it, and how it affected his family. I'll need a while to really digest Beautiful Boy, but I do want to read the son's account, (Tweak by Nic Sheff), to try to understand the experience from his view. The point Sheff got across was just how hard it is to help someone with addiction, how draining it is on every level to watch someone you love more than anything descend gain and again into the darkest places and to feel your hopes rise and then die again as well. I felt such deep sympathy for both the father and the son, all the while being so frustrated by Nic's perpetual relapses. But it just shows that even people with loving families are not exempt from drug addiction. I'll be thinking about this book for some time to come and definitely recommend it.Apr 27, 2011
I want to light this book on fire, then stab out the chunks of my brain that remember this book.Jun 01, 2010
The writing was good, but I couldn't stop thinking that rich people are very lucky. Thier kids can be drug addicts and not go to jail. It would have been better if the author had really acknowledged that.Jun 16, 2008
Gut-wrenching! I read this because I saw the author, David Sheff, talking about it on Oprah, and because I have children close in age to his son; although I was fortunate enough to avoid the hell of parenting an addicted kid, I have been there with many of my friends, and with friends of my kids'.Nov 27, 2018
The recently released movie, Beautiful Boy, is based on a pair of memoirs from father and son David and Nic Sheff that chronicle, from each of their points of view, the heartbreaking experience of survival, relapse, and recovery in a family coping with addiction over many years.Mar 03, 2008
For people close to an addict: Read this book if you have not yet realized that you are not alone.Apr 01, 2009
*Sunil*: I came back in here to 'edit' my *STARS*.....(you gave it 4): Pretty high for you, too!Jul 10, 2009
What I learned from this book? Well, the rehab/relapse cycle is, uhhh, cyclical, which means that *you probably shouldn't write an interminable chronological account of it*. I've seldom been quite so thrilled for a book to be finished, not least of all because this author is one of the most hideously self-obsessed and self-congratulatory people I've ever had the displeasure to spend way too much virtual time with. Nothing that the addicted son, nor either of his other two children, nor he What I learned from this book? Well, the rehab/relapse cycle is, uhhh, cyclical, which means that *you probably shouldn't write an interminable chronological account of it*. I've seldom been quite so thrilled for a book to be finished, not least of all because this author is one of the most hideously self-obsessed and self-congratulatory people I've ever had the displeasure to spend way too much virtual time with. Nothing that the addicted son, nor either of his other two children, nor he himself has ever done isn't noteworthy enough to dote on laudatorily as though no kid in the history of humanity has ever done a halfway creative book report or messed around with Garage Band to make a song before, even if it has no narrative or even emotional purpose in furthering the book. Relatedly, it's a boomer nightmare of "I'm not your dad, I'm your best friend, little dude!" garbage. "Hey, I dig Nirvana! I'm cool, right?"Apr 17, 2008
3.5 stars. Hmmm... so close to to four stars. A tough read, an easy read. A father's account of his son's addiction to meth (among other things), but there's so much in here that's familiar to anyone who's known someone addicted to anything. The same things that make me consider this book "just okay" (the repetition of themes, the over-dramaticism, the self-absorption) are the same things that make it so realistic and relatable to anyone who's had with an addict in their lives. He does a good 3.5 stars. Hmmm... so close to to four stars. A tough read, an easy read. A father's account of his son's addiction to meth (among other things), but there's so much in here that's familiar to anyone who's known someone addicted to anything. The same things that make me consider this book "just okay" (the repetition of themes, the over-dramaticism, the self-absorption) are the same things that make it so realistic and relatable to anyone who's had with an addict in their lives. He does a good job of capturing the paradoxes of addiction; all these conflicts that just don't add up in any logical way: You have no control... but don't you have influence? It's a disease; it's not their fault... but they're the only ones who can control it.Apr 18, 2019
This is a grueling and sad account of a family torn apart when a beloved son with a promising future becomes addicted to alcohol and meth (one of the worst of all drugs because it permanently alters your brain). I read this after watching the grueling and heartbreaking movie of the same name. I am again filled with sadness for all of them. Why did I do this to myself?! Now I'm off to listen to the son's account because I crave more torture, apparently.Jul 13, 2018
I’m bitter about it. I know. It’s shitty of me to say these things, but my initial positive reaction to this book is hampered by the fact that it’s essentially about a severely addicted individual, who grew up in, and has maintained even after sobriety, a life of privilege. Drug and alcohol addiction is an un-biased monster. It affects all walks of life. I know this. It’s just, to be frank, irritating to hear about a young white male of high socioeconomic standing, manage to be so thoroughly I’m bitter about it. I know. It’s shitty of me to say these things, but my initial positive reaction to this book is hampered by the fact that it’s essentially about a severely addicted individual, who grew up in, and has maintained even after sobriety, a life of privilege. Drug and alcohol addiction is an un-biased monster. It affects all walks of life. I know this. It’s just, to be frank, irritating to hear about a young white male of high socioeconomic standing, manage to be so thoroughly privileged during (and subsequently following) such dark years, when there are stories out there of people (due to their lesser social stations) who don’t have the advantages that Nic does... and especially don’t have the connections that lead them book deals and careers working in television.Nov 03, 2014
So here is a sad, beautiful book about a father who loves his son so much but he was struggling with drug addiction. And he suffered from the guilt of letting his family down. This is in the father's perspective. If you want to read his son's perspective read Tweak.May 31, 2019
4.25 starsNov 30, 2014
I'm struggling with this review. I am making an exception and breaking one of my own rules. In autobiographies/memoirs, I don't like judgmental reviews when someone opens up and lets the world in by telling their story to all who will read it. But this book was so irritating to me.Apr 25, 2015
One of the best books dealing with addiction I've ever read. It makes you feel fear and hope. It makes you laugh and cry. I recommend this book to anyone that loves someone, friend or family that lives with addiction.Take your time and choose the perfect book.
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