I have just finished reading “Beautiful Boy” by David Sheff. Perhaps the most unparalleled book I have read about addiction, “Beautiful Boy” is a bird’s eye view into Sheff’s personal account and journey through his son’s addiction and steps to recovery. Two quotes that I especially appreciated touch on how addiction permeates self and families:
“I probably don’t have to tell you that this is a disease that affects families too,” the speaker, a program counselor begins. “They don’t sleep, they don’t eat, they become ill. They blame themselves. They feel rage, overwhelming worry, shame. Many people keep their suffering to themselves. If your child had cancer, the support from your friends and family would flood in. Because of the stigma of addiction, people often keep it quiet. Their friends and family may try to be supportive, but they also communicate a subtle or unsubtle judgment.”
And from David Sheff on what it feels like to worry about your child on drugs: “Is he in mortal peril? His beautiful brain, poisoned, possessed, on methamphetamine. I wanted to remove him erase him elide him from my brain, but he is there. We are connected to our children no matter what. They are interwoven into each cell and inseparable from every neuron. They supersede our consciousness, dwell in our every hollow and cavity and recess with our most primitive instincts, deeper even than our identities, deeper than our selves.”
“Beautiful Boy” is a worthy read.
Photo credit: Me!
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