David and Nic Sheff, authors of Beautiful Boy and Tweak, respectively.
I have spent the last three days looking for breaks in my daily routine - little cracks and crevices in my work, personal life, and sleep to read the book Beautiful Boy: & A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction . & Once I read the first 20 pages of David Sheff's account of coping with his son's methamphetamine addiction, I was consumed by their story. David is a veteran journalist and a generous writer. & He shares the love and admiration he feels for his son Nic, but also the anger, fear, and the crushing sense of loss. & He can shift between these various states in the course of a week and a page. & Welcome to life when you love an addict. & David also describes the bottomless well of guilt he feels over Nic's addiction.
I rode the emotional rollercoaster of this book over the last 72 hours, apparently showing the effects of my ride. & A colleauge said to me first thing this morning, "Are you really tired or something?" Oh, no. & I'm fine. & I'm just exhausted from crying and reading faster and faster in the hopes that the next page is going to have Nic going into rehab instead of looking to score and hoping this rehab will take and he won't relapse and....(Colleague backs away...s lowly. ) &
Obviously, I found the book very effective. & I felt David's anxiety of not knowing if his child is alive for weeks at a time, wondering what he is doing on the streets where he lives when he's using, searching for the next fix. & I felt David's shock when he first realized that Nic was actually shooting up and that his beautiful boy had tracks going up and down his arm. & I mean, imagine being a parent and seeing your son's physical transformation, the weight loss, the discolored skin, the hollow eyes, the tracks. & David gives you a clear window to see what that would be like. & I was angry when Nic started stealing from his family and friends. & I was hopeful each time he went into rehab and crushed when he would relapse and start using again. & It's a testimony to the writing and to the tragedy of it all that I as the reader was so present along the way.
Nic has written his account of addiction in a book called Tweak: & Growing Up on Methamphetamines . & I haven't read it yet, but I will soon. & Both David and Nic will be guests on These Days this morning. & In fact, they've just arrived and I'm heading down to meet them now. & Tune in at 9:30 to hear what they have to say about addiction and, ultimately, hope. &
