Oprah Talks About Addiction and Beautiful Boy with David Sheff

Addiction is seen as a shameful disease, a quiet killer of American families. On her recent show, Oprah Winfrey discussed addiction and the disease of being a drug addict with David and Nic Sheff. During Beautiful Boy: A Father's Heartache, An Addict Son the viewers were told how exactly the experience affected David Sheff, his family and most importantly his addict son, Nic Sheff.

Beautiful Boy: Devastating Addiction
David Sheff discussed on The Oprah Winfrey Show his son's addiction, and also his experience in trying to help his son come clean. Sheff's trials and tribulations came after he was forced to recognize his son's problems, and to admit to himself that Nic was an addict. Nic was addicted to several drugs, including marijuana and heroin. His biggest problem came from methamphetamine abuse. David described his son as a wonderful, and bright little boy who somewhere chose a dark path and became an addict at a young age. Nic admitted to drinking at age eleven, and starting to experiment with marijuana in his early years.

As an award-winning journalist, David Sheff knew how to heal the pain through writing. The New York Times Magazine published Sheff's article on Nic's crystal meth addiction. The response from this article was overwhelming, as so many parents publicly recognized their childrens' suffering from drug abuse and addiction. Sheff received overwhelming support, and sadly realized that he was not alone in this battle.

Beautiful Boy: A story of devastation, struggle to recover and healing
From his article, Sheff found strength and a voice. Out of his family's nightmare came a book called "Beautiful Boy". The story is often sad, and discusses disturbing details of Nic's addiction. In it, David talks about his son being lost for long periods of time, the way his body was physically tormented, Nic's habit of stealing in order to buy drugs, and the way the entire family felt not safe.

During their appearance on The Oprah Show, David and Nic had a chance to listen to other families talk about their pain. Some of the families had read David's book, and had their own stories of drug abuse, addiction and struggle to survive. All of these families had one bond, a single connection and that is the devastation caused by addiction.

Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines: Nic's side of the story
Nic Sheff wrote a book based on his childhood journals, stories he could remember, and to the best of his recollection. Oprah even stated that after James Frye's debacle with "A Million Little Pieces", the publisher of Nic's book included a note that explained why some characters were changed, dialogue was created and why the book was not considered to be 100% accurate.

The memoir still has strength, as Nic openly discussed his darkest days of trying to score his next high. Some of his lows included stealing from family, and trading sex for money. His journey includes overdosing, emergency room trips and several rehab stays. During his battle, Nic even relapsed once after treatment but has now been sober for two years.

Beautiful Boy is a sad book, that details one family's struggle through a loved ones addiction. It however gives people hope and strength that their loved one will find peace in sobriety. While the road to sobriety is long and challenging, Beautiful Boy unites people to have a voice and not look at addiction as a family embarrassment.

Sources:
The Oprah Winfrey Show - Devastating Drug Addiction