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Beautiful Boy

A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction
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( 102,641 ratings, 9,946 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
In Beautiful Boy, David Sheff details his personal and heart-wrenching journey as a father witnessing his son's battle with addiction. Through a raw and candid lens, Sheff explores the emotional turmoil and challenges faced by families grappling with substance abuse. The memoir delves into themes of love, hope, and resilience amid the chaos addiction brings to family life.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you’re interested in a powerful, deeply personal exploration of parental love challenged by a child's struggle with addiction. It offers an honest and emotional account of a family's journey through hardship, highlighting resilience, hope, and the complexities of addiction from a father's perspective.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

A teenager's addiction from the parent's point of view – a real-time chronicle of the shocking descent into substance abuse and the gradual emergence into hope. 

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

THE NUMBER ONE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE, STARRING STEVE CARELL AND TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET

‘What had happened to my beautiful boy? To our family? What did I do wrong?’

Those are the wrenching questions that haunted every moment of David Sheff’s journey through his son Nic’s addiction to drugs and tentative steps toward recovery.

Before Nic Sheff became addicted to crystal meth, he was a charming boy, joyous and funny, a varsity athlete and honour student adored by his two younger siblings. After meth, he was a trembling wraith who lied, stole, and lived on the streets.

With haunting candour, David Sheff traces the first subtle warning signs: the denial, the 3am phone calls (is it Nic? the police? the hospital?), the attempts at rehab. His preoccupation with Nic became an addiction in itself, and the obsessive worry and stress took a tremendous toll.

But as a journalist, he instinctively researched every avenue of treatment that might save his son and refused to give up on Nic. This story is a first: a teenager's addiction from the parent's point of view – a real-time chronicle of the shocking descent into substance abuse and the gradual emergence into hope.

Beautiful Boy is a fiercely candid memoir that brings immediacy to the emotional rollercoaster of loving a child who seems beyond help.

Read the other side of Nic Sheff's bestselling memoir, Tweak.

Praise for Beautiful Boy:

'A brilliant, harrowing, heartbreaking, fascinating story, full of beautiful moments and hard-won wisdom. This book will save a lot of lives and heal a lot of hearts'. Anne Lamott

'An important book... moving, timely and startlingly beautiful.' Richard Branson

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Beautiful Boy has received praise for its honest and powerful storytelling. Reviewers highlight its insightful and heartfelt depiction of a family's struggle with addiction, noting its timeliness and emotional resonance. Described as both moving and hopeful, the book's candid narrative provides a revelatory and healing experience for readers, emphasising its importance for parents and those affected by addiction.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781471177934

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 27 December 2018

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Scribner UK

Edition: Film Tie-In

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 27.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 448

About the Author

David Sheff is the author of multiple books including the #1 New York Times bestselling memoir Beautiful Boy, which was recently turned into a movie starring Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Outside, Rolling Stone, Wired, Fortune, and elsewhere. His piece for The New York Times, “My Addicted Son,” received an award from the American Psychological Association for Outstanding Contribution to Advancing the Understanding of Addictions.

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