Nic Sheff

Wow, this book took my breath away. It was terrifying, inspirational, insane, unbelievable, and heartbreaking. I've never had the urge to do hard drugs and this book firmly cemented my belief.

I'm an anxious reader as it is and I always get nervous when a character does something I know they shouldn't do or that they'll get in trouble for later (you could say I get waaay too invested in my stories) and this book had me hyperventilating. I was practically yelling at the book, "Don't do it show more Nic! Don't relapse! That's a horrible idea! What are you thinking??"

This memoir is haunting and heartbreaking but you really have to admire the guts Nic has in sharing his brutal story about addiction. He spiraled out of control multiple times and he leaves nothing out. He was using dirty needles, prostituting himself, stealing from his family, doing every type of drug imaginable and he lays it all out for the reader. It took a lot of failed attempts but he finally got clean, testament to, no matter how bad your life is you can turn it around.

A truly great (but terrifying) book. show less

Read Beautiful Boy, then read this book! BB explores the point of view of the father of a bright, talented boy who spirals into heavy drug use. His anguish is palatable, and it filled me with dread.

Nic Sheff, the son/drug user is an even better writer than his father. I wish I knew how much of this was written when he was actually using, and how much is written in hindsight! You understand the lure of the drugs, the shame he feels and shudder at the hold the drugs have, and will continue to show more have on him forever.

The most interesting thing is seeing the differences between the father's perspective and the son's reality. A true cautionary tale!

This book is being marketed primarily as a youth selection, which is unfortunate, since every parent should read it! show less

This is a compelling and disturbing book about the repeated patterns of an addictive mindset, as Nic Sheff reflects on four years of struggle with drug addiction. Nic writes openly and courageously of his worst betrayals of people who love him, of the lowest points in his life. To his credit, he filters out the finger-pointing that seems so common in memoirs these days.

The main character's narrative voice evolves to match each phase of his addiction--something that's hard enough to do in show more fiction. In a memoir, it's brilliant. Many would be tempted to color their description of events with the wisdom of hindsight. Instead, we watch Nic shutting out everyone in his life as if we were there with him, knowing that he's blundering his way into disaster and knowing that he cannot see it. The effects of this are powerful. I've never read a book with a more open ending. He wrote the book during a positive time of his life, but will he weather the notoriety that comes with being a sought-after , published author, or will this success lead him into the same patterns he needed to escape in order to survive and, eventually, recover? Nic makes it possible for us to imagine either ending, and therein lies the power of this book in portraying the depths of addiction. show less

Actual: 4.5. This memoir is raw and heartbreaking. I understand why people feel like Nic is insufferable in his Zelda phase, but he’s writing with his perspective and character from that exact time. He shows us who he was, and how the drugs brought out the worst in him.

I could have done without the mean descriptions of fat people, but nonetheless a gripping read.