A riveting story though painful. It's written honestly from the fathers point of view. It was difficult sometimes to continue to read it because I felt I was going through it too. Sometimes hearing someone is living through similar circumstances helps you to feel hope that maybe I should try this or that or if it hasn't killed him maybe I can keep going too.

My daughter and I have dealt with her drug addiction and personality disorder since mid-college. When I listened to Beautiful Boy (CD) it was an incredible echo of all my own thoughts, feelings, and actions over the last eight years. Eight years of crises, days I wished I could run away while my daughter ranted at me. I tell everyone I know how incredible this book is. Every parent who thinks it will never happen to their child should read this. Every parent who has had it happen to their child should read this. Every mental health professional from social worker to psychiatrist should be required to read it. I've never met a psychiatrist or psychologist who has understood what it feels like to live through these experiences. I want to send copies to my friends, my doctors, my daughter's mental health group, etc. At the least, my friends will be able to comprehend how and why I've changed so much since this all started. Like the author, despite everything, I will never be able to give up on my daughter. Hearing the lengths that Nic's parents went for him to have a chance gives me affirmation that I've been right to refuse to give up on her while others have advised me to do so "for my own sake." After three hospitalizations my daughter is now at a long term facility (one year and counting) and is finally getting out of adolescence where she had remained stuck for ten years.

What a great book on how to understand the struggles and trials of living with a family member with a drug addiction. This father truly depicts the heartache and smiles that he lives with on a daily basis. This book made me and my family understand that we were not alone in this battle with a son that has an addiction problem.

I found many parts of David Sheff's book familiar to me as a step-parent. I appreciate that David did not try to interweave any of his son's story; this is clearly a father's story. After I read Beautiful Boy, I also read Tweak, by Nic Sheff. The two books together give you an amazing sense of the different points of view. And it reminds me that my experience of events is vastly different from that of my husband or our children -- but all of them are true. Finally, I was unaware of how devastating meth is, compared to other addictions. And yet, the emotional mechanisms of addiction are the same, regardless of the drug.I recommend these books for parents, and for some teens who are ready for them. They are powerful and truthful and well-written. The honesty is remarkable and sometimes searing. There is none of the whining or excuses that often appear in such stories. I certainly would never ever touch meth after reading Nic's story.

I appreciated the author's honesty as well as his research and in depth look at addictionThe book was recommended to me by a friend whose son is an rehab. I have a healthy 12 year old, but I found this book helpful to understand what, potentially, children may go through and how parents must deal with the situationI recommend this book for all parents and concerned citizens, even if addiction is not in your immediate family.It is so rampant that I feel it is important to understandThank you, Mr Sheff, for sharing your experiences