Caplan, Joseph; Kish, Stephen, CMAJ: (Sept.2008). Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Meth Addiction.…
In today’s society, people tend to group one and an another into different categories according to their own social identity. An individual’s gender identity refers to which group where one belongs to. The attributes assigned to both males and females are different because of gender differences. In “Becoming members of Society: Learning the Social Meanings of Gender” by Aaron Devor, the author argues that factors such as beliefs and behaviors help differentiate the sexual identity of a person. In addition, Devor views sex as an instrument of determining gender. It is believed that there are only two types of sexes that exist. Which are male and female. On the other hand, “Girl”, by Jamaica Kincaid, the mother tries to forces prescribe behavior,…
Nic Sheff was 18 and collage bound when he discovered crystal meth. At first his father had no idea. Then came a call from his school, the late nights, the lying, the ghoulish pallor and the wasting away. David’s life became an eternity of waiting, for the phone to ring, the door to open, or for any sign that his Nic was safe. His fears were less dreadful than his son’s reality; begging, dealing, and promiscuous sex whatever it took to dim the pain. The feeling of emptiness that had terrorized him at least since his parents’ divorce when he was a child.…
The Vietnam War was the “unpopular” war and was intensely criticized by the Australian people for the reasons stated in the poem, Homecoming, by Bruce Dawe. In the poem “Homecoming” by Bruce Dawe, Dawe identifies his personal concerns of the Vietnam War and then presents them through the use of poetic techniques. It is clear to us that Dawe’s foremost concerns are that of the number of dead, the lack of respect and the dehumanisation of the dead, and the careless attitude of the Government towards the War.…
Dania Reynolds, “Former Addict Speaks Out About His Past Experiences”, www.covecenterforrecovery.com website, Original author, published by Cove Center For Recovery at 10:06 AM , accessed on October 10th,…
Hart is able to connect with readers on the hardships of life and how a single choice can influence your entire life. I originally chose this book to inform myself on drugs in today’s society and what influences the use of them. After reading the book, I was able to understand what causes drug use and how what we learn by the media is somewhat incorrect. This memoir is truly well written and includes a unique way of writing that continuously keeps the reader active and engaged in the…
Sheff’s story of struggle is told with undeniable love and consideration. Beautiful Boy raises awareness and provides a personal look into a topic that may be hard to discuss. The experiences vividly show the destruction brought about by drugs and provide a glimpse of the effects of a prevalent…
David Sheff’s Beautiful Boy is a heart breaking story about the struggles of raising a teenage addict. Raising a teenage addict comes with its ups and downs. No one wants to see their child hit rock bottom. On the brighter side, everyone wants to see their child succeed. Parents of teenage addicts go back and forth through these ups and downs; as a result they start to lose hope. People should become aware of the seriousness of the situation. Teenage drug abuse is becoming more common in households around America. In the novel Beautiful Boy by David Sheff, Sheff and his family show the struggles of teenage drug abuse by facing the beginning phases of drug abuse, the effects on the family and friends, and the recovery process.…
Beautiful boy is by David Sheff is about his son Nic’s transformation from a sweet, intelligent, and outgoing child into a lying, cheating, stealing drug addict. Sheff’s life starts where a father should at the beggining of Nic’s birth. He detailed the many adventures that him and nick had before his painful divorce from Nic’s mother, that moved from San Fransisco to Los Angeles. Due to the divorce Nic was up for a custody arrangement that pulled him between the two places on a daily basis. The story continues its way through Sheff’s remarriage and the births of his two children, Jasper and Daisy. This leads lack of attention of Nic’s childhood. Nic is described as a young boy who is very smart aswell as creative and when Sheff first found…
In "The Ordinary Son", Ron Carlson has created one of the blandest characters ever put on paper, and therein lies the story's peculiar power.…
You always hear about tragic stories that involve drugs, in news articles, tv shows, books, etc. You never think it could apply to you. You ask yourself why would it? You believe you’re a good individual that knows right from wrong, and it can’t happen to you. When we are young, we all believe we’re invincible, some us still do.…
The novels, Tweak by Nic Sheff and Beautiful Boy by David Sheff have shed an enormous amount of light on a topic that most of the population tries to avoid and pretend doesn’t exist: drug addiction. These novels are both compelling and haunting. They leave the reader anxiously turning each page, unable to read quick enough. Both sides of a drug addiction story, the addicts and the families of addicts, are told with deep sincerity and powerful insight. Because of these novels countless of people have a changed perspective towards addiction, sobriety, and strength. Addicts are not solely comprised of their addiction and addiction does not equal strength. People should not be ashamed to talk about their life story, Nic Sheff explained that “[He’s] come to discover that holding on to secrets about who [he is] and where [he came] from is toxic. [His] secrets will kill [him]” (Sheff, N., 2009, p.322). These novels have challenged society’s “hush, hush” mentality about addiction, and have brought an intimate insight into how addicts and families of addicts think and feel. This information will greatly change addiction treatment, therapy, and the Social Work profession.…
“The Bet” emphasizes the idea that the life of a human is far more valuable than money.…
I was seventeen, on vacation with my mom. Like every teenager I was anxious to get back home, but I wasn’t like most normal teenagers. When we were fifteen minutes outside of Salem we stopped in a small town to get coffee. We pulled up outside of a building where I saw my dad’s car parked and I instantly knew, my parents were checking me into a drug rehabilitation program. Like I said before I wasn’t like most normal teenagers, I was addicted to methamphetamine. So, my initial reaction was, I’ve done this before, I can do it again. But my parents were prepared for that, because this was unlike any drug program I had ever heard of. The first three weeks consisted of nothing but silently backpacking through the desert. Aside from the one hour of designated group time every night, we were to remain in complete silence. I am not sure when, but sometime during those first three weeks, I began to feel like the only friend I had left in the world was my journal, it turned into the voice that had temporarily been taken away from me. I think that’s the first time I realized writing didn’t have to be a stressful, miserable task.…
The story "Boys" by Ricky Moody conveys the breathlessness of the true nature of a boy through the style in which the story was written. Most short stories are broken up into paragraphs, with central ideas and structure for the ease of the reader, for the pleasure of the writer or because it is simply logical. However, "Boy's" differs from most other stories because it is written as one long paragraph - no breaks or formal structure. Much like the flow of life. In reality, time is infinitely continuous and untouchable, the story mimics the nature of recalling life. It is common to feel time "flying" as people age. After finishing the story you are left with a sense of "breathlessness" as if you have peered into the mind of someone reminiscing a lifetime. The structure of the story is a stream of consciousness. If life was written as it happened, this is what it would look like.…