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  • Beautiful Boy

  • A Father's Journey through His Son's Meth Addiction
  • Written by: David Sheff
  • Narrated by: Anthony Heald
  • Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (169 ratings)

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Beautiful Boy cover art

Beautiful Boy

Written by: David Sheff
Narrated by: Anthony Heald
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Publisher's 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.

©2007 David Sheff (P)2008 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

What the critics say

"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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If you love an addict

This story breaks my heart but is a simple truth of a parents love. Quite extraordinary.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Amazing!

Such a heartfelt and beautifully written book. I thank the author for sharing his life with us.

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1 person found this helpful

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A deep and meaningful book

Excellently written and narrated.
I appreciate the care that went into telling this story.

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One of my favourite memoirs!

Listening for the second time, and I loved it just as much. A heartbreaking, but beautiful human story of how addiction affects the families of an addict. It's also an intimate portrayal of what battling addiction looks like and the limited resources available for getting long term help. Filled with compassion, love and perseverance on all fronts. A valuable contribution to anyone on the sidelines of a loved one battling addiction.

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hard to hear these struggles this family faces.

great story. made me cry more than once. hard to listen to sometimes as a parent raising kids today... and knowing the hardships this family must have went through... the love a parent has for their children is so true!

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Heartbreaking and Enthralling

Being a new parent, you can't help but put your place in the father's place. The story was enthralling and I wanted to listen to the book before I watched the film. I did not necessarily enjoy the narrator, especially his children's voice.

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Profoundly well written. Had me in tears.

Looking for something to read that will profoundly impact how you view addiction, it’s impact on family and the person who suffers with the addiction? Want to cry, laugh and feel ever emotion possible as your read their journey?
Wowowowow. This book is SO well written you won’t put it down (or stop listening to it on audio book)

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Absolutely heart wrenching and beautiful, I couldn’t turn it off.

I thought, as a new mom, this might be a difficult story to stomach. I was right. I sobbed through at least half of this book. The writing is stunning. I felt as though I was inside the authors mind, feeling every ounce of pain right along with him. The performance of the reader was perfection, it felt more like a movie than listening to an audiobook. Those who have been affected by addiction will relate to the wide range of emotions and experiences vividly described in this book, those who have not will gain valuable insight. Highly recommend.

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Easy read

I work with addictions and this book captures the world of addiction and it’s destructive path perfectly. Easy to listen too.

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HELPING TO UNDERSTAND ADDICTION.....

This book helped me better deal with the cocaine addiction of loved ones. I want to feel like I did what I could for someone I loved but in the end, that person died. I felt the pain thru the authors words and relived my anguish with trying to help someone who couldn't be helped. I hope that Nic was able to fight his demons.

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