Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction is a memoir written by David Sheff as an ode to is son, Nic, who suffered from drug abuse for most of his life. Sheff initially wrote an article, "My Addicted Son"(2005) for The New York Times Magazine which formed the basis for this memoir.
The book deals with the journey into substance abuse as a parent observer. Sheff highlights the guilt that parents face and the blame they place upon themselves for the outcome of their children. He describes into detail what it was like living with Nic who behaved aggressively and would regularly steal from him when he was under the infleunce. However, in the end he realizes that he cannot control nor cure his son; he can only pray that he continue to remain sober.
The book was followed up by Nic’s recount, titled “Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines”, which was released in 2005. A film adaptation of Beautiful Boy was released by Amazon studios on 2018, with Steve Carell starring as David Sheff and Timothée Chalamet as Nic Sheff.
