
Beautiful Boy
A Father's Journey through His Son's Meth Addiction
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Narrated by:
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Anthony Heald
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By:
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David Sheff
About this listen
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.
You can also hear Sheff's son's perspective in his memoir: Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines.©2007 David Sheff (P)2008 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Sara Bliss (yes, that’s her real name) tracked down more than 65 people who transformed their lives to learn how they did it so you can, too. Take the Leap is packed with inspiring profiles, quotes, and other pieces of creative advice from game changers, rule breakers, and side hustlers, including successful entrepreneurs like Barbara Corcoran, Bobbi Brown, writer turned actress (at 40) Jill Kargman, Black Crowes drummer turned sports radio host Steve Gorman, writer Simon Doonan, and NFL player turned artist/activist Aaron Maybin, and many more.
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Getting Unstuck
- By Sandra Mizumoto Posey on 05-09-19
By: Sara Bliss
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Life Is Hard
- How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way
- By: Kieran Setiya
- Narrated by: Kieran Setiya
- Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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There is no cure for the human condition: life is hard. But Kieran Setiya believes philosophy can help. He offers us a map for navigating rough terrain, from personal trauma to the injustice and absurdity of the world.
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Solid
- By Jason Blum on 10-24-22
By: Kieran Setiya
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How Do We Know Ourselves?
- Curiosities and Marvels of the Human Mind
- By: David G. Myers
- Narrated by: Adam Barr
- Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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How Do We Know Ourselves? is a compendium of the most wondrous verities that Myers has found: a thought-provoking audiobook about psychological science’s insights into our everyday lives. His astute observations and sharp-witted wisdom enable audiences to think smarter and live happier.
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Author’s politics drive examples
- By Mark A. Bucknam on 12-26-22
By: David G. Myers
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Unschooled
- Raising Curious, Well-Educated Children Outside the Conventional Classroom
- By: Kerry Mcdonald, Peter Grey PhD
- Narrated by: Lesa Lockford
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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In a compelling narrative that introduces historical and contemporary research on self-directed education, Unschooled also spotlights how a diverse group of individuals and organizations are evolving an old schooling model of education. These innovators challenge the myth that children need to be taught in order to learn.
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Not for parents
- By online shopper on 05-24-20
By: Kerry Mcdonald, and others
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Strung Out
- One Last Hit and Other Lies That Nearly Killed Me
- By: Erin Khar
- Narrated by: Jayme Mattler
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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This deeply personal and illuminating memoir about her 15-year struggle with heroin, Khar sheds profound light on the opioid crisis and gives a voice to the over two million people in America currently battling with this addiction. Growing up in LA, Erin Khar hid behind a picture-perfect childhood filled with excellent grades, a popular group of friends and horseback riding. After first experimenting with her grandmother’s expired painkillers, Khar started using heroin when she was thirteen.
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Surface material
- By blythe mayfield on 03-06-20
By: Erin Khar
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Imperfect Courage
- Live a Life of Purpose by Leaving Comfort and Going Scared
- By: Jessica Honegger
- Narrated by: Jessica Honegger
- Length: 7 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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In 2015, Inc. magazine recognized Noonday Collection as one of the fastest-growing companies in America. Years earlier, as Jessica Honegger stood at a pawn-shop counter in Austin, Texas, and handed over her grandmother's gold jewelry, her goal was personal: to fund the adoption of her Rwandan son by selling artisan-made jewelry. This first step launched an unexpected side-hustle that would grow into Noonday Collection. She teamed up with her first artisan partner, Jalia, a Ugandan jewelry maker and saw the meaningful impact Noonday brought to Jalia's community.
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Too Church for me
- By Just a mom on 03-31-19
By: Jessica Honegger
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The Weight of Air
- A Story of the Lies About Addiction and the Truth About Recovery
- By: David Poses
- Narrated by: Charlie Thurston
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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While his wife and two-year-old daughter watched TV in the living room, David Poses was in the kitchen, measuring the distance from his index finger to his armpit. He needed to be sure he could pull the trigger with a shotgun barrel in his mouth. Twenty-six inches. Thirty-two years old. More than a decade in a double life fueled by depression and heroin.
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David’s story is invaluable
- By Kristy Aiken-Smith on 03-13-22
By: David Poses
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I Love You, More
- Short Stories of Addiction, Recovery, and Loss from the Family's Perspective
- By: Blake E. Cohen CAP
- Narrated by: Joe Hempel
- Length: 2 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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I Love You, More offers insight into the various perspectives and experiences of family members who have dealt with the harrowing disease of addiction. The goal of this quick, accessible book is to be the conduit that allows you to enter the body and mind of a substance abuser and their family, to see the world through their eyes as they navigate their way through one of the most heart-breaking and gut-wrenching hardships they will ever face.
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Very good
- By Leslie Russell on 11-05-23
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The First Phone Call from Heaven
- A Novel
- By: Mitch Albom
- Narrated by: Mitch Albom
- Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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The First Phone Call from Heaven tells the story of a small town on Lake Michigan that gets worldwide attention when its citizens start receiving phone calls from the afterlife. Is it the greatest miracle ever or a massive hoax? Sully Harding, a grief-stricken single father, is determined to find out. An allegory about the power of belief - and a page-turner that will touch your soul - Albom's masterful storytelling has never been so moving and unexpected.
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Heaven Calling...............
- By tooonce72 on 11-20-13
By: Mitch Albom
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Payoff
- The Hidden Logic That Shapes Our Motivations
- By: Dan Ariely
- Narrated by: Simon Jones
- Length: 2 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Every day we work hard to motivate ourselves, the people we live with, the people who work for and do business with us. In this way much of what we do can be defined as being motivators. From the boardroom to the living room, our role as motivators is complex, and the more we try to motivate partners and children, friends and coworkers, the clearer it becomes that the story of motivation is far more intricate and fascinating than we've assumed.
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Excellent Tips on Motivating People
- By A. Yoshida on 12-11-16
By: Dan Ariely
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Age of Opportunity
- Lessons from the New Science of Adolescence
- By: Laurence Steinberg Ph.D.
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Adolescence now lasts longer than ever before. And as world-renowned expert on adolescent psychology Dr. Laurence Steinberg argues, this makes these years the key period in determining individuals’ life outcomes, demanding that we change the way we parent, educate, and understand young people.
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if you think you know, think again
- By Dk on 12-11-14
What listeners say about Beautiful Boy
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- bigdealgiles
- 02-05-18
new perspective on addiction
This was a great, but scary story about addiction through a father's eyes. I cried a lot.
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- Kassie H
- 12-06-18
So Powerful
This story is beautiful. It's written in a way that keeps you engaged the whole time. At first the father reflects his son's childhood, bringing you as a parent to reflect on your own child as a kid. Then he goes into the teen years and then the addiction starts. The thing that I really made me give this book a perfect review is the balance between HIS story and the way he dug deep into addiction, learning about it and explaining it along the way. He explains how he learned as much as he could on the subject and really spends time teaching you as you go on this journey with him. I became so engulfed in this book that I found myself FEELING physical heaviness while he was trudging through this addiction with his son. As a mother of an addict I shed many tears through this book, I could relate. This book does come out with a more positive take on COPING with an addicted child and emphasizes the importance of taking care of YOU as a parent. I'd recommend this book, even if you do not have an addict in your life. It's beautifully written and powerful.
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- P. Both
- 01-11-15
Perfect Match!
I have found that when listening to a book, the narrator can make the story come alive-or once I returned a book simply because the narrator was so tedious and bored-I could no longer listen as all I heard was blah,blah blah, and Not the story unfolding. Anthony Heald read with such authenticity, such perfect timing, pitch, and (grace?) that I was swept away with the words, emotions and characters. I want Him to Read to Me Again! Is that normal? I also have experienced being wrapped up in someone else's addiction, but never have I been able to express the feelings of love, panic, frustration and fear the way David Sheff has written. beautiful boy is the best author/narrator match Ever!
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- Tricia C Duffee
- 11-05-18
Loved it
Scary, sad, beautiful, informative! Well read. I saw the movie and wanted a little more info. This is a great read.
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- Darlene
- 06-01-11
Totally engaging!
I was skeptical about this book at first and it did take a chapter or two to get into it but then I found myself wanting to know more about David and his family. I TOTALLY disagree with the previous reviews that said negative things about the narrator, I thought he was GREAT!! I laughed outloud when he did the voices for Daisy and Jasper and found myself drawn to the sound of his voice. Thank you David Sheff for allowing us into your world and I know this book is a few years old, I find myself wondering what became of Nick.
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- windy888
- 03-10-20
superb yet sad
if anyone in your family or yourself have suffered with addiction this may, just may help to let people into a little insight of how vile it is, how intelligent you can be, how much you don't want to do it and the stigma that goes with it or rather back in the 80's even my family ostricised me! Mine was alcohol.... they gave me a night to live - i made it but was told i would never walk again.... I beat it, have never drank since --- 20 years ago
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- Cassia Karin Ferrara
- 08-12-21
Heart Changing Read
This book caught my attention under "recommended"/"Included" audio books in my Audible app because I was so moved by the short movie trailer of the film that recently came out based on the book by the same title. I have not yet watched the movie, but this book was absolutely excellent. Entering into the highs and lows of David Sheff's experience with his son was good for my soul. He brought me to questions and quandaries about life and relationships that I certainly have not come close to needing to face in my own life yet, though I can feel them through Sheff. I was challenged ethically, morally, spiritually, and emotionally.
This is a memoir, so the storyline is real-life. When reading it you may long for a climax (high or low, depending on how you take your drama), but Sheff's story is continuous. His story's highs and lows are unpredictable, inconvenient, irritating, infuriating, and never when you want them. This is real life in the trenches of unthinkably difficult parenting. Reading this review may inspire you to turn to a different book, but don't. This book was concretely good for me. I am setting it down completed and remorseful. I wish it could go on somehow. I know that the Sheff family's lives go on... and now I find myself praying for them often, and for my young son.
This book encouraged my passion for humanity, empathy, and courage. It encouraged my prayers, my hopes, and my gratitude most of all. The bright points of Sheff's life drew my attention to the bright points of my own--they are so poetically and rhythmically remembered. The dark parts of his story increased my patience for my own comparatively shallow lows, and my capacity to wait and abide with others in their own valleys.
The only major lack I found in his book was in its epilogue. Sheff resolves and ties up his points of view on all the relationships he introduced us to in his story except for one. He resolves things with Vicki, makes resolves for his relationship with Nic, with Karen, Jasper, Daisy, and most poignantly with himself, but he never does so with God. God whom he mysteriously found himself talking to often and asking so much from, he doesn't mention a word about his relationship with him in the end (though he does state some important theological maxims about life and human responsibility which have everything to do with God). Other than that, he tied it up well.
I look forward to seeing Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet's performance of this true story on film.
Excellent book*****
Also, Anthony Heald did a superb job in narration with speed, pace, inclination, and voice adjustment for each character. I hope to find his reads again!
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- Coronnalvr
- 08-09-21
good information on addiction
well done story with human details, but, not too much. brave father to share this.
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- als1202
- 11-08-18
Great read...
everybody knows somebody that has addiction (and it comes in many forms) in their life...
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- Amazon Customer
- 07-11-18
Sad but beautiful
Really touching loved it. Can’t wait for the movie. 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙 great love love love read it.
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