What a Beautiful Boy :(

Ahhh, Beautiful Boy. I went on vacation a few years ago (I believe it was spring break of my sophomore year in high school) and brought the novel along for a lazy day on the beach. Needless to say, my days on the beach consisted of puffy eyes hidden behind sunglasses and a constant supply of tissues. My mom had purchased the book at Costco a couple days before I left, and I stole it in a hurry to bring along some reading material. I was not expecting to read such a moving story. It is one of my favorite books. A year or so before reading [Beautiful Boy], I had discovered that my cousin was going through a drug addiction. Like Nick's parents, my aunt and uncle were limited in their influence, as both my cousin and Nick were over 18 and therefore not legally bound to listen to their parents. Beautiful Boy showed me the pain family members go through when they see the addiction of a loved one and how trapped families feel when realizing that they have no control over it. David Sheff opened up an extremely intimate part of his life, and in doing so taught others that when someone is addicted to a substance, they are not the only ones going through pain.

The subject of the story is David Sheff, the father of drug addict, Nick Sheff. He goes through the story of his son's addiction from his own perspective, including everything from applying to various drug rehabilitation programs to explaining to his younger children why their older brother stole their money. This particular story is relevant because it is not just offering the opinion of a drug addict, it offers the account of a family member who legitimately cares for the addict and who desperately wants everything to be okay. He demonstrates the perspective from someone observing an addiction from the outside looking in. The intended audience for Beautiful Boy is any person who has ever gone through a drug addiction, any family member who has ever watched a loved one go through an addiction, and any individual who will go through either of these two scenarios in the future. He wants to warn drug addicts of the pain they are causing both themselves and others. He wants to console family members and let them know that it is not their fault-that the only thing they can do is to be there for their loved one. David Sheff sometimes uses short, terse sentences to separate any opinion from his choice of words. An understanding is easier grasped by the audience when the author just writes simple facts, compared to long, detailed sentences. David Sheff also includes a note from Nick to his younger brother, Jasper. This is included so the audience can gain some perspective from Nick, who is the actual drug addict, not just his father. Nick explains his regret for his mistakes. I sometimes use these short sentences to grab hold of the audience’s attention. Quotes or dialogue are also useful in gaining insight from someone other than myself, the writer. David Sheff closes this abridged version of his novel, saying “I have learned to check my optimism” and I appreciate his reflection throughout Beautiful Boy.