Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction is David Sheff's memoir about his son Nic's addiction to alcohol and drugs, particularly crystal meth. The story told is harrowing: David and his first wife, Nic's mother, went through a particularly tough divorce, but Nic seemed like a fairly well-adjusted kid. In high school he was on the swim team, wrote and edited the paper and was an excellent student who was accepted to several prestigious universities.

Little did Sheff know that his son was on a quick path to addiction, living on the streets and multiple rehab trips. According to Nic, he first started drinking at age 11. He began smoking pot daily and quickly progressed to harder drugs, including methamphetamine and heroin. During his freshman year at Berkley, his rampant drug use spiraled out of control and he changed from a loving brother and high achiever to a junkie who stole from his parents and even his little brother.

As an author and reporter, Sheff attacked the situation like he would a book or an interview or a magazine article. He contacted numerous specialists in the field of addiction, particularly medical experts and researchers. He compared the treatment and efficacy of different rehabilitation facilities and spoke to people who gave him advice about what worked for addicts they knew. And although Nic's addiction precipitated Sheff's actions, the book is really about how Sheff learns and grows from his son's troubles.

"Every call [from Nic] fed my growing obsession with the promise of reassurance that Nic was all right or confirmation that he was not. My addiction to his addiction has not served Nic or me or anyone else," he writes. "Nic's addiction became far more compelling than the rest of my life."

Beautiful Boy is an intense and emotional story about the toll addiction has on the parents of the user. Sheff became preoccupied with his son to the exclusion of his relationship with his loving second wife, as well as his two small children. As he says in the epilogue, "I learned that at some point, focusing on Nic's perpetual crises became safer territory than focusing on myself." Despite its subject matter, Beautiful Boy is a compelling read, and Sheff creates an evocative memoir that makes readers feel as if they are experiencing everything with him and his family.

- Ashley