Nic Sheff: A Story About Addiction

Introduction
On July 20th of 1982, Nic Sheff was born in San Francisco to parents David and Vicki. He they moved out to Inverness, California with his dad and his girlfriend as a result of his parents divorce. Nic was a leader in school, popular and athletic. He went through his childhood with enthusiasm and energy. To everyone’s surprise, Nic turned out to be a crystal meth addict. What caused this? Who’s to blame? This is the story of Nic’s and Nic’s family’s life through his father’s eyes.

Biography
Nic Sheff was an ideal child to every parent. While Nic was just a toddler his parents, David and Vicki, ended up getting divorced. This was probably the most scarring point in Nic’s life. David met a women named Karen and eventually got remarried. Karen was probably just as important to Nic as his mom, Vicki, was. Nic carried on through elementary school with much enthusiasm. He got excellent grades, has a close group of friends, and was a role model. His teacher’s constantly gave remarks on what an excellent student and person he is. He developed a keen interest in music and his favourite band Nirvana. However, in grade seven, Nic was caught with weed in his backpack by his dad. This was a large blow up in the household. David and Karen met with Nic’s teacher and talked about all his is doing. Noticing that Nic was less interested in school than he was before, his parents grounded him for a while. Nic, however, continues to do extremely well in school. He enters a private high school with big hopes and ambitions. In grade ten, his is caught by a teacher trying to buy weed. Nic is suspended for a week and his parent’s get him a student advisor, Don. Nic and Don are on the same page. Don surfs just like Nic, is into the same music, and as a result, is Nic’s role model. Nic eventually joins the water polo team, school newspaper, and enters into the school play. A trip to Paris comes up as an exchange for French class. Nic goes for three weeks. When Nic returns, he is different. He quits the school newspaper, water polo team, and drifts further away from his family. He comes home high, admits he is using crystal meth, and is eventually arrested. Nic graduates still with good grades and runs away from home several times. It is now a battle between his Dad to get him into rehab, and Nic being on the streets in a state of despair. The story continues on with Nic’s life in rehab, living in LA, and his relapses.

Important Event One
Probably the most important even in Nic’s life is his parent’s divorce. Because Nic was only a toddler when this happened, it changed his life forever. The divorce got vigorous, and ended up going to the courts. It was decided that Nic would live with his dad during the school year and with his mom during holidays and summer. This affected Nic for the rest of his life, because now he would have two homes, two families, and two lives. His dad thinks that this is the number one thing that made Nic resort to drugs when things got stressful. Shortly after the divorce, Nic’s dad met a woman named Karen. Nic and Karen got along very well, and they eventually moved out to a town called Inverness. Nic would eventually get a half brother and sister named Jasper and Daisy. Because of the court ruling, Nic would fly out to his mom’s in San Francisco every summer. The divorced changed Nic’s life forever because it changed how he lived.

Important Event Two
The next most important even in Nic’s life is the first time he tried crystal meth. Up leading to this point, different stages of addiction have developed. The first time he bought weed in grade seven. When he was suspended in grade ten for buying weed. The “switch” that turned Nic’s addiction on, (from his own words), was when he went to Paris. When he was Paris, he was drunk everyday. He kind of forgot about the whole education part, and just went partying for three weeks. When he came back, he continued his trend forgetting about school. Then, at his graduation in grade twelve, he tried ecstasy for the first time. He said that it made him feel better than he ever did in his life. This continued onto crystal meth. His dad has to pick him up in a back alley after he had been missing for a week. While Nic was high, he told his dad he needed to go to rehab. However, the next day he refused which continued onto many more binges. The first time he tried meth really changed his life. This is what made him go into several different rehabs throughout his life. It affected his family because they were constantly worrying about them. Their happiness depended on whether Nic was sober or not. That first his of meth changed his professional, educational, and family life forever.

Important Event Three
The next most important event in Nic’s life is his relapse after being sober for two years. After graduation, Nic goes in and out of rehab for many years. He goes to one in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. After some of those rehabs he is only sober for a few days, some for a few months. However, after his one of his most beneficial rehabs in Los Angeles, he is sober for two years. Nic holds a job as a barista, as a girlfriend, and is able to visit his family once again. Nic’s family cut him out whenever he wasn’t sober. Even after these two years of sobriety, Nic relapses again. This relapse is different, because in all of the other ones, Nic’s dad helps him. However, this time, Nic is completely on his own. As it says in the book, relapse is apart of recovery. This relapse shaped Nic’s life because I think it was this time that Nic realized that ultimately, he has to do this on his own. He may get support from his family, but it’s up to him.

Connections
The most prominent connection is this book is that this could be anyone’s story. Currently, fifteen million people world-wide are addicted to crystal meth compared to eight million addicted to cocaine, and seven million addicted to heroin. There are families all over the world going through the exact same thing going on in the book. The author, David Sheff, gets tons of letters daily asking for advice, praising for thanks, and telling there stories.

The people that Nic has affected the most are his family members. Because Nic is an addict, it ends up being that family’s happiness depending on how that addict is doing. If the addict is sober, the family is happy. Otherwise, there is constant tension in the house.
Nic has also affected the families with addicts as well. When they read this story, they know what to do, how to react, and have hope for there own loved one, because he turned out alright. Along with the family, Nic has affected the addict themselves. Most addicts just believe they are screwed for life and they can never get better. This is a prime example of recovery, and that it is possible.

Media and Links
The author’s homepage.
http://www.davidsheff.com/

A video interview with David and Nic Sheff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQ2f8X7kUSo

A site about drugs for teens.
http://www.teens.drugabuse.gov/

A site completely on meth.
http://www.kci.org/

Meth addicts stories.
http://dev.drugfree.org/Portal/DrugIssue/Meth/index.html

News article of Crystal Meth.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1123782275367_119191475

Interview

Questionnaire: Hey Nic. It’s nice to have you here today. After reading Beautiful Boy, we just wanted to ask you some things about your life and what happened.

Nic: Sounds good! It’s my pleasure.

Q: Reading throughout the book, the same thing always came to my mind. Do you have any regrets?

N: Everyone has regrets. We all try to go through life knowing in the moment we won’t regret what we are doing. Every time I got high, the word regret didn’t come to mind. What came to mind was necessity. When a person with an addiction is looking for their drug of choice, nothing else matters. It is kind of like saying “do you regret breathing oxygen?” However, do I regret starting drugs? I think the answer to no. I am an addict. No matter what path my life would have taken me I still would have an addict. Though using drugs once destroyed my family, it has now brought us closer together than ever.

Q: Did you ever feel guilty hurting your family by using?

N: Every second. I know by using it hurt my family tremendously. My dad would stay up for nights in a row waiting for me to come home. At the time I was not thinking and, in my mind, every day I didn’t come he would get madder and madder which made me stay away for longer. I knew that my siblings Jasper and Daisy wouldn’t understand what was happening at the time, but I knew they must be terrified. My family and I have talked over what has happened, set boundaries, and establish ground rules. I realized that I have put this burden on my family, but we work together to make things right.

Q: What do you mean set boundaries and ground rules?

N: For example, every time the phone would ring, my family would tense up and worry something horrible has happened to me. They think it would be the hospital, jail, or me calling to say I’m in trouble. Now I have certain times which I call to give them a peace of mind.

Q: What made you try crystal meth?

N: The first time I ever tried drugs was in grade seven. My friend and I got drunk on a school trip. After that I started to smoke weed regularly. Then, I went to a exchange trip to Paris. Everyday I get drunk in Paris for three weeks. I think this is what “turned on” my addiction. At my graduation in grade twelve, I used ecstasy for the first time. It made me feel better than I have ever felt in my entire life. I felt so close to everyone and everything. Then along came crystal meth. I cannot even express to you how I felt. Do I think anyone should ever try this drug? Absolutely not. After that one time, you are entirely addicted to it. It is a lifetime of pain, suffering and trying to recover. Try it is asking for a death sentence. What made me try meth is I wanted to feel something more. That the thing with drugs. You always want to feel more.

Q: What do you recommend to addicts and families of addicts today?

N: Recovery is a process, not a cure. A relapse is part of recovery. It is not the end of the world. You need to get help as soon as you can if you relapse. Go to AA meetings, and get into rehab. Rehab saved my life may time. As for the family, remember this. You didn’t cause it, you can’t control it, and you can’t cure it. Get them into rehab. If they’re under eighteen, force them into it. It may be harsh, but trust me, you are saving their life. If they’re over eighteen, you’re going to need to convince them to go. For some people this means an intervention. Other people need to be cut off completely until they hit rock bottom. Everyone is unique. There is no correct way of doing things. All you can do is try to help, but ultimately it is up to them.

Q: Are you sober today?

N: Yes i've been sober for almost two years now. However, I was sober fot two years once before. I always have to be aware that I have an addiction. If I ever relapse, I know to check myself into rehab right away.

Q: Do you blame anyone for all of this?

N: Absolutely not. Do you blame someone for cancer? My addiction is probably a combination of multiple things that have happened in my life. But, in the end, I have a diese and that is the way it is. Blaming people will not make things any better.

Q: Thanks for everything today Nic. Advice for addicts and their families is quite important. Your story is savoir for some people.

N: No problem. Just remember, recovery is a process. It will take many tries to get sober. Have hope.

Importance to Me
At the beginning of this assignment, I wasn’t really sure who I wanted to do a biography on. I didn’t just want to pick a random famous person and talk about them. As an earlier recommendation, I chose this book. I’m glad I did so because not only is this a good biography, it is also a great novel and story.

Beautiful Boy was an amazing story. It kept me interested through out the entire book, keeping me wanting to know what is going to happen next in Nic’s life. It also gave me very important facts about drugs, alcohol and, most importantly, addiction. It went from Nic’s birth, through grade school, college and his life in addiction.

I think the most important thing to take from this book is that this could be anyone’s story. Addiction is the world’s dirty secret. When addiction creeps up on a family, every reacts like the world has ended even though it is happening to millions of families’ world wide. Everyday, people get drunk, stoned and high. What this book does it show you someone else’s life that is addicted to drugs and alcohol, which helps you know how to react when it affects you. It not “if” it affects you, it’s “when.” Nic’s life shows you that families and friends will try to help someone that is addicted to drugs, but ultimately, everyone has their own path, decisions, and life to make. It also tells you that if you have a friend or family member that is addicted to drugs, you didn’t cause it, you can’t control it, and you can’t cure it. You can only try to help.

Another point that this book made me realize, is the world is handling addiction wrong. Each year, the government of the United States spends $50 billion on the war against drugs. That is police force arresting people, crime related to drugs, bankruptcy related to drugs, and health problems due to drugs. Yet, only $1 billion is spent every year on addiction research development. About thirty years ago, if you had cancer, it was basically a death sentence. Today, people tend to live with the disease more than die with it. The same kind of money and concentration should be put into addiction. Do you know how many lives and how much money would be saved if we spent that $50 billion in the correct places?

What this book has done to me has opened my eyes. It made me realize that addiction is more than just addiction. It is a disease. From the book, Nic says one time “It is like an every-day person not breathing, sleeping or eating. You can’t control it.” It has also made me much more aware about drugs. It is a know fact that teenagers drink alcohol and experiment with drugs. Where it crosses that line into addiction and not just having fun is what has to be decided. For example, the Nation Institute on Drugs abuse did an experiment. Randomly, ten ecstasy pills were taken off the street from different dealers. Eight of them contained crystal meth. What crystal meth does to you makes you addicted instantly by releasing 90 to 95% of you body’s dopamine (the hormone that makes you feel good.) For myself, that turned me off from ever trying hard drugs ever in my life. Drugs are not what they used to be thirty years ago. Almost everything is laced.
What the world has to do it realize that we are handling addiction wrong. We are spending our money in the wrong places. Treatment of addicts is not effective. Drugs are not as “safe” as they used to be. The world needs to open its eyes and prevent this from become a disaster.

Bibliography/Works Cited
Sheff, David. Beautiful Boy. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2008. Print.

Al-Anon/Alateen." http://www.al-anon.org/. 01 Jan 2005. Al-Anon. 8 May 2009

"Addiction." http://akisqnuk.org/clc/Addictions2.html. 08 May 2009. Akisqnuk Community Learning Centre. 8 May 2009

Sheff, David. "beautiful boy: a father's journey through his son's addiction." http://www.davidsheff.com/. 28 Apr 2009. 8 May 2009

"The Science of Drug Abuse and Addiction." http://www.nida.nih.gov/. 07 MAy 2009. National Institute on Drug Abuse. 8 May 2009