Addiction is often seen as a disease of helplessness, not only for the person who is addicted but also for the lives of friends and loved ones of the person struggling with drug abuse. David Sheff, the author of autobiography Beautiful Boy, illustrates how his son, Nic’s, addiction to methamphetamines took over both of their lives.

A parent’s point of view allows the reader to empathize, through the lens of a father, the struggle of addiction. At the end of each chapter, Sheff questions himself: Why? Why won’t he stop? Why did I not get my son help sooner? What did I do to lose him? Sheff finds the answers to these questions in the community support he is able to find from others with the same struggle. Sheff attends AA meetings where people share their stories, and he is told: “you cannot cure this; this is not your fault.” In spite of this, though his son is addicted to dangerous substances, Sheff is addicted to finding an answer. This is one of the most powerful messages in the book. Most people suffer from the desire to want more, and disease is not caused by a lack of willpower, but rather by the neurobiological processes in the brain.

Sheff researches the reality of methamphetamine addiction, an addiction that plagues thousands of Americans and has a low sobriety success rate. He discovers that meth is one of the most addictive drugs because of its ability to deplete the brain of dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that alerts the brain of pleasure but also elicits the brain to repeat behaviors that cause pleasure. When one first takes meth, a large amount of dopamine is released in their brain creating a feeling of pleasure and, in order to replicate this feeling, users will have to take increasingly larger doses to create the feeling of pleasure they initially experienced. This is not the only discouraging piece of information Sheff finds: it may take up to two years for the nerve damage to be reversed in a meth user. Sheff describes his son’s addiction as an act of stealing, “An alcoholic will steal your wallet and lie to you. A drug addict will steal your wallet and then help you look for it.” Each time Sheff tries to help his son, he continues to hurt his father and himself.

While maintaining emotionally powerful prose, Sheff highlights the struggle of what it means to be addicted, and what it means to love someone wholeheartedly even if those feelings aren’t reciprocated. Though his son created chaos and stress in his life, Sheff consistently agreed to help him and stayed by his side. Sheff’s unconditional determination to help Nic is a truly heartwarming aspect of the book, as Sheff’s support for his son is ultimately what helps him recover and have the willpower to get better.

David Sheff’s memoir Beautiful Boy keeps the reader engaged from start to finish. It took me a mere 24 hours to finish. Not only does Sheff illustrate the importance and complexity of his relationship with his son Nic, who is crippled by drug dependency, but Sheff encourages the reader to stay hopeful. Beautiful Boy is a book that is relatable to any audience; it is about love and pain, and how to support the ones you love and find yourself in difficult times.