Addiction In David Sheff s Beautiful Boy
The book Beautiful Boy, tells the story of living with a son, Nic Sheff in this case,
who is addicted to drugs. It is told in the father s perspective. Being told in this
manner, we are given insight on how the father feels and the motives for his
actions. It also reveals the struggles of being a parent of a child who is addicted to
multiple drugs and is willing to steal from his familyto get them. Slowly I realize that
Nic is gone, and he has robbed the house of cash, food, and a case of wine (David
Sheff 93). All that David Sheff wants for his son, is to, live a normal life. By
comparing his son to what he feels as a normal life. It hinders David, to see the
different possibilities of his son having a normal life, and a normal future.... Show
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Up to this point David has tried so many times to help his son relinquish his drug
addiction. But now, it seems as if he feels defeated, and is trying to accept the fact.
That his son can not or will not, ever change. Prior to this he has tried so hard to
help his son. He would talk to conselors about his son s condition ... and continue to
drag him to the therapist, even as he becomes increasingly furtive, argumentative,
and reckless ( David Sheff 91). Whenever his son doesn t come home for days, he
makes calls to multiple places, I call the police and hosptial emergancy rooms.
Nothing (David Sheff 141), I call counselors and other specialist for
recommdations (199), and I call the recommded facilties in our area, inquiring
about their success rates for treating meth users (119). David even tries to bargin
with his son, If you want to live here, if you want me to help you, if you want me
to pay for your college, if you want to see us...Nic Do you want to die (121)? David
geniualy wants his son to get better. He wanted his son to get better so badly that
he even started questioning his parenting thinking, Did I spoil him? Was I too
lenient? Did I give hime too little attention? Too much ( David Sheff 145)? By
questoning himself he becomes desperate and in an act of desperation he smokes
weed with his son. But this is different. And yet I accept the joint, thinking
rationalizing that it s not unlike a father in a previous generation sharing a beer
with his seventeen year old son, a harmless, bonding moment (David Sheff 90).
Though, David wants his son to get better, he is promoting his son s behavior. His
analogy is terrible. It is terrible, because he is comparing his son, who is addicted to
weed. To a father,