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  • Beautiful Boy

  • A Father's Journey through His Son's Meth Addiction
  • By: David Sheff
  • Narrated by: Anthony Heald
  • Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (317 ratings)

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Beautiful Boy

By: David Sheff
Narrated by: Anthony Heald
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Summary

The #1 New York Times best-selling story of addiction and a father’s love: “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

Now 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’s drug addiction. David’s 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.

Before meth, Sheff’s son, Nic, was a varsity athlete, honor student, and award-winning journalist. After meth, he was a trembling wraith who lied, stole money from his eight-year-old brother, and lived on the streets. With poignant candor, Sheff traces the first warning signs—denial, 3 a.m. phone calls—the attempts at rehabilitation, and, at last, the way past addiction. He shows us that, whatever an addict’s fate, the rest of the family must care for one another too, lest they become addicted to addiction.

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

You can also hear Sheff's son's perspective in his memoir:
Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines.
©2007 David Sheff (P)2008 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
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Critic reviews

"Sheff does not spare himself or anyone else from keen professional scrutiny any more than he was himself spared the pains and joys of watching a loved one struggling with addiction and recovery....This is an honest, hopeful book, coming at a propitious moment in the meth epidemic." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about Beautiful Boy

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely amazing. Anyone with children should listen to this.

Addiction is a terrible thing, you don’t choose it, it happens! This true life account could help. It’s real, raw and compelling! Well done David! If it was my child I would of acted the same, but what a journey!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Powerful story, poor narrator

The story tells of enormous suffering but also of enduring hope. The narrator is poor and the voices he uses for children is very annoying.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Fascinating listening

Loved it. Listen to this NOW! It was playing whenever I was travelling or sitting at home, cooking or cleaning. You get to share in the ups and downs of two very different addicts, one a father, the other a son plus their families. No need to have a similar experience but perhaps it would be better if I had!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Outstanding

You may learn how to protect yourself, and do the best you can for your loved one by this book. No easy answers, plenty of paradoxes and contradictions in the world of addiction and being a parent, but still you will have hope at the end, and that’s what is most important to hold onto, but at the same the need get on with your own life too.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I couldn’t tear myself away.

Spectacular. Beautifully written, this story will make you feel all the ups and downs of the David Sheff, his family and his son. It’s heartbreaking and heart warming at the same time. Anthony Heald is my favorite narrator of all the audio books I have listened to. He helps bring the book alive. Anthony astonishes me with the way he brings the characters and book alive. He did great justice to an excellently written piece of art.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Beautiful

A terrible and beautiful memoir, narrated perfectly. I cannot recommend this enough - heartbreaking and uplifting.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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holy heck

I AM SOBBING this book is so beautiful and it’s bittersweet i hope everyone is healthy and okay 😭🫶

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A Must Read

I loved this book. Brilliant insight into addiction and the impact it has on the addict and the family. I found it so real, emotional and honest. A book I won’t forget in a hurry.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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anything is possible all you need is hope

disliked the fact that it was really long and how some people can get bored of it easily

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Diary of an Addict’s Father

Excellent performance from Anthony Heald.

As for the book, I thought of my brother whether he’s recovered or a functioning meths addict. In Malaysia, we called it ‘batu’ as it looks like stone. I guess it’s easier to say to your parents if your brother is using to cut him off completely but as Sheff said, it’s unconditional love parents have for their children.
There are numerous of ideas and reading provided by the author except I felt it that it reads as a research paper that he’s submitted to New York Times. It is personal but it’s not at the same time. I as a reader would love to hear and read more of his feelings and his relationship with his son even more as it brought tears to my eyes when he wrote about his hopelessness, hopefulness, disparity and love towards his son.
Stories about Jasper and Daisy is a great angle as they’re the affected characters. This, too, brought tears to my eyes as I’ve seen children in school, being a teacher, suffering from family members whom are using.
In a nutshell, David Sheff, I adore your courage and love towards your son and getting through it.

Love x

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4 people found this helpful