Charlie Pakluck, Campus Carrier guest columnist
“Beautiful Boy,” a memior written by David Sheff, details a beautiful account of addiction through the lens of a father. Nic Sheff, David’s son, a young man who struggled with addiction for many of his teen years. David says he wrote the book to provide motivation for people going through similar struggles. It is not meant to be a textbook, but rather a guide on how to cope with your child’s addiction.
Nic’s first experience with drugs happened in middle school. He tried marijuana and then continued to use it throughout high school. When he went to college, his mental health rapidly declined until he dropped out and moved back home, applying to smaller colleges instead. Only months after going home, Nic left in the middle of the night and called David. Based on the phone call, David knew Nic was high. He had used meth.
David was not only concerned because of the dangers of drug use, but because his best friend in college died in his late 30s in relation to substance abuse. In the early 2000s, 35 million people globally were meth users. David researched the effects of methamphetamines and knew that he only had two options: help Nic through recovery or lose his first child. So, David researched and found a rehabilitation facility and convinced Nic to go. When the rehab session ended, Nic decided to live in the facility’s halfway house where he could live independently and work while still having professional support. After three days in the halfway house, Nic disappeared and relapsed. David got him to start a new rehab program, telling him he could either do that or he could no longer live at home.
The process was long and hard, but Nic reenrolled in college and seemed to be thriving. He was doing well in school and was substance free. He used drugs again once but claimed to not have relapsed again after that. Unfortunately, though, he then admitted to having been using the entire spring semester. His mother, Vicki, encouraged him to go to a New York rehab facility, and he agreed. He celebrated one year of sobriety when he was twenty-one. Less than one year later, he relapsed yet again. He got sober after and got to two years of sobriety, the longest he had been sober in years. Then, he used again.
David realized he could not keep repeating the pattern. He cut Nic off and forced him to guide himself through recovery. This time, Nic got sober and stayed that way.
“Beautiful Boy” is a genuinely motivational story that teaches readers how complex addiction is. Addiction is not a choice, and recovery is not linear. As typical as the line is, relapse is a part of recovery. Relapsing once or even five times does not mean the user can never recover. Removing the stigma from addiction and substance use could make significant changes to statistics about recovery and addiction. This book is one everyone should read and truly take the time to learn from.