Advertisement beautiful boy is a devastating true story of addiction. What the beautiful boy movie left out and families. In beautiful boy, steve carells character is reminded that relapse is part of recovery, a tough reminder that sobriety is not easily obtained, its the result of oppressively hard work. Beautiful boy has been out for a while now, but as you will see, this epilogue stands the test of time. A fathers journey through his sons addiction is a 2008 memoir by david sheff that follows his experience trying to help his son, nic, through drug addiction. We created a discussion guide to accompany the film, in the hopes that it will foster discussion about substance use and provide insight into how families address addiction. Mary pipher, author of writing to change the world and reviving ophelia those of us who love an addict or are addicts ourselves will find beautiful boy a revelation. Seduced by the illicit world of drugs and alcohol, he quickly found himself caught in the clutches of addiction. Beautiful boy recounts his struggle with addiction through the eyes of his father david sheff detailed the struggle of dealing with his son nics methamphetamine addiction in. Overcoming addiction and ending americas greatest tragedy and all we are saying.
He tells us how brilliant nic is, that nic has a great imagination and that all of his teachers think that he is a very smart and intelligent boy. Nic steals an old family car and disappears for almost two weeks. That realization led david to write his book beautiful boy. There are many books out there covering the subject of mental health. The book starts with loving vignettes about nic as a childsensitive, artistic, smartand events that sheff shared with the younger nic, such as attending the nirvana concert. The personal account of addiction is not masked or cleaned up for the purpose of publication, but really gets into the real issues and struggles. Fiction and nonfiction books about addiction and alcoholism. Whether nic will recover remains an open question at the book s end, which offers a glimmer of hope, but no promises and no easy answers. Beautiful boy is nics story, but from the perspective of his father, david. David sheff and his son nic both wrote memoirs about nics meth addiction. I have started to read the book beautiful boy and i have already been touched by the message that this text brings to life. A fathers journey through his sons addiction, clean.
David says that he had shared and discussed his own history of drug use with his son, a decision that he questions today. Beautiful boy, by author and journalist david sheff, his harrowing account of trying to help his son nic battle crystal meth addiction. Beautiful boy and the horrifying realities of drug addiction. It is based on the books written by nic sheff and his father about his experiences with. When nic sheff watches his struggle with addiction and family angst portrayed in the poignant new movie beautiful boy, it immediately brings tears to his eyes. Beautiful boy was a book written by david sheff about his son struggling with addiction. A fathers journey through his sons addiction was released, which was based on his experience. David sheffs memoir of his sons methamphetamine addiction is being published at the same time as nic sheffs own account. The following is an extract taken from the epilogue of david sheffs bestselling book about his sons addiction and his own recovery as a family member. A drug addict will steal your wallet and then help you look for it. David sheff born 1955 is an american author of the books beautiful boy.
Father and son behind beautiful boy share their story of addiction and recovery david sheff and his son nic both wrote memoirs about nics meth. His ongoing research and reporting on the science of addiction earned him a place on time magazines list of the worlds most influential people. This is a brilliant, harrowing, heartbreaking, fascinating book, full of beautiful. This 54page guide for beautiful boy by david sheff includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 25 chapters, as well as several more indepth sections of. Beautiful boy is a memoir written by david sheff about his experiences as he tried to save his teenage son from drug addiction. A clear picture of what meth addiction does to a user and those who love him that may help other families better cope with this growing problem. Following its publication, sheff met countless people struggling to prevent drug use and abuse and survive addiction their own or a loved ones. An extract from david sheffs beautiful boy allies in. New discussion guide released for beautiful boy movie. In this book i think that david sheff lays down a great visual into the life of his son nic. The title of the film is derived from david sheffs book. See all 26 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. Yet as childhood exuberance faded into teenage angst, the precocious boy found himself going down a much different path. Beautiful boy is based on a book by the reallife david.
We are pleased to partner with amazon studios and serve as a resource for the new film, beautiful boy, which premieres nationwide this november. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Growing up on methamphetamines, which was released in 2007 a few months later, his fathers book, beautiful boy. A fathers journey through his sons addiction film tiein by sheff, david isbn. A fathers journey through his sons addiction kindle edition by sheff, david. Anne lamott when one of us tells the truth, he makes it easier for all of us to open our hearts to our own pain and that of others. Following its publication, sheff met countless people struggling to prevent drug use and abuse and survive addictiontheir own or. Find all the books, read about the author, and more.
A site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy. Nic sheff on beautiful boy, addiction, family, hope and love. Beautiful boy shows family struggling with addiction. His father weeps in a way that i have not wept since i was a young boy.
Beautiful boy is a devastating true story of addiction. In both the film and the books, nicolas sheff chalamet is. Beautiful boy was an incredibly informative reading experience for me personally. Father and son behind beautiful boy share their story of. I read beautiful boy and it was like seeing my life with my drugaddicted. Growing up on methamphetamines and millions of other books are available. Drug addiction can be devastating for families, especially when young people develop addictions early on in their teenage years. This compelling fatherson drama certainly evokes bittersweet memories for him. Beautiful boy may have inherited its name from david sheffs memoir, but the film is also based on nic sheffs own retelling of his addiction, a book titled tweak. An alcoholic will steal your wallet and lie to you.
Its a wrenching an illuminating examination of what its actually like to be a young person whose life is disrupted by drug addiction. In his memoir beautiful boy, author david sheff poignantly describes the insidious development of his sons addiction, from alcohol and marijuana to, later, methamphetamines, cocaine, and heroin. A fathers journey through his sons meth addiction okay, so nic sheffs parents got divorced. His writing has appeared in the new york times, the new york times magazine, rolling stone, playboy, wired, and many other publications. This book will save a lot of lives and heal a lot of hearts.
Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading beautiful boy. Wed like to express a big thank you to david sheff for giving us permission to reprint these words. A fathers journey through his sons addiction paperback bargain price, sep 25 2012. Its a very moving and insightful account of one fathers journey through his sons addiction, a journey millions of parents have made. Beautiful boy the movie is another prong in the father and sons mission to change the conventional addiction narrative. Achingly honest, it chronicles the betrayal, pain, and terrifying question marks that haunt the loved ones of an addict. A fathers journey through his sons add iction paperback january 6, 2009. What the beautiful boy movie left out and families facing addiction need to know holly brown, lmft holly brown is a marriage and family therapist in the san francisco bay area. It is based on what is effectively a matching set of memoirs. Beautiful boy is a punishing tale of addiction the. In 2009, sheff was included in time magazine s time 100, the worlds most influential people, and beautiful boy was named the best. A fathers journey through his sons add iction is a memoir by david sheff that describes how his family dealt with his son nics methamphetamine addiction. Their stories are now the basis of a film starring steve carell and. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
With a new afterwordnow a major motion picturewhat had happene. It was published by houghton mifflin on february 26, 2008. Its recently been adapted into a film starring timothee. A fathers journey through his sons meth addiction by david sheff its hard to write an honest book when the book will reveal that you, its central character, are a helpless onlooker to the terrible waste of a beautiful person, your beautiful boy, your eldest son. What is the real story behind the movie, beautiful boy.