By Faith Zochowski
David Sheff tells the chronological story of his son Nic’s addiction in his autobiography Beautiful Boy. The remarkable true-story captures not only the battles and the triumphs of overcoming a meth addiction, but it also portrays the unwavering love between a father and his son. This book is the perfect celebration for BGSU’s Family Weekend, which will be celebrated this upcoming weekend, Sept. 30 – Oct. 2.
Sheff divides his autobiography into five different parts. On each page that divides the parts, he includes a quote, song lyric, or excerpt from a book that tells the thoughts of those who have seen first-hand the effects of addiction. Sheff tells his story in chronological order from the moment the ultrasound told them they were having a boy until the end of the book where he recaps where Nic’s life has taken him to this day. He writes about his wife Vicki, who he ends up getting a divorce with. He also writes about his second wife Karen and their two children Jasper and Daisy. He includes accounts of how Nic’s addiction affected his relationship with them as well.
A unique aspect of his book is that he includes his own research on addiction. Sheff is a journalist who has had pieces published in the New York Times, Rolling Stone, and Wired, to name a few. He mentions multiple times how thankful he is for each doctor, addiction specialist, and therapist who helps him to try to understand Nic’s addiction, but time and time again he is left without answers to his questions. This prompts him to pour his time into every online journal, medical book, and other people’s experience on addiction to become better educated with what is going on with his son.
Sheff succeeds in shedding light to the bad, the ugly, and everything in-between about addiction. He carries the reader along with him through everything. We rejoice as Nic finds himself 6 months sober. We cry as Nic relapses and returns to the hospital. The story is raw and heart wrenching because Sheff is authentic in his storytelling, even if it is hard for him to recount the trauma of his family’s past.
He even tells of the agony he went through as the father of an addict, doubting himself every day as to whether he was doing the right thing or not. He blames himself for not being stricter and not seeing the warning signs before the addiction got worse. He even tells of a time where he told Nic he wasn’t allowed to come home or call him anymore. It caused him great agony, but he knew he had to protect Karen, Jasper, and Daisy. He was the only one who had hope in Nic, but all of his doctors told him it was the only choice. He leads the readers through this hopeless time through traumatizing details.
In Sheff’s afterword, he shares that he has heard from thousands of people who have stories similar to Beautiful Boy. He pleads with his readers to become more educated on the drug system, and to learn from his story on how to deal with those in their life that suffer addiction. He provides hope and promise for those dealing with the disease.
Beautiful Boy has been adapted into a major motion picture starring Steve Carell as David and Timothée Chalamet as Nic. The film is a beautiful, raw, and realistic visual to the life story of a father and his addicted son. Stream the movie on Amazon Prime!
Enjoy celebrating your families this weekend! A list of activities to participate in this weekend can be found here.
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