Book summary

In this harrowing, heartbreaking, and utterly gripping book, journalist David Sheff chronicles the unique pain of being the father to a drug addict. When his son, Nick, was in high school, he seemed to have everything going for him: he was on the swim team, had great grades, had been accepted to UC Berkeley, and had already had his work published in Newsweek. But David didn't realize that his son had been abusing drugs and alcohol since he was 11 years old, and failed to understand the seriousness of the problem even after his son was arrested on a possession charge. Nick had only been at college for a few months before he dropped out and disappeared into an abyss of methamphetamine addiction. The years ahead would be marked by desperate attempts at rehabilitation, followed by terrible relapses. Sheff writes with clear-eyed and heartfelt prose, and BEAUTIFUL BOY is shocking, informative, and as compelling as a novel. Readers will sympathize deeply with both David and Nick, as they each struggle against the diabolical forces of addiction. BEAUTIFUL BOY originated in a New York Times Magazine feature article, and was selected as the fourth title to be sold and showcased in Starbucks coffee shops. The book is being published around the same time as TWEAK, Nick Sheff's memoir of the same period of time but from the point of view of the junkie.