Tweak discussion

Is there anyone who read this book, plus the father's book Beautiful Boy? I would love to discuss both.

I am finishing up a book now and will next be reading Tweak and then Beautiful Boy after that. So I reall can't say anything now, but once I have read them I would be very interested in hearing what you have to say.

I read them in the opposite order (Beautiful Boy, then Tweak) and I am glad I did.

I will be curious to hear your thoughts on both!

I tried to read Tweak first, but couldn't really get through it. So I stopped and read Beautiful Boy. It was a pleasure to read something written by an experienced author. Then I picked Tweak back up and found it interesting to see the differences in the two stories.

I thought it was a good example of mental illness. The son seemed not to really understand what it means to be loved, what it feels like. It felt empty to him. No matter what words or action the parents tried to show their love, their son could not see it.

This has been my experience with those in my life that suffer from the mental illness of depression, somewhere in there head they don't experience those that care for them.

The second interesting question in the book is how much kids can hide from their parents, or is it that parents don't want to see?

I think its a combination of kids hiding things from their parents and what parents dont want to see. A friend at work basically went through / is going through the same thing as David Scheff. I think he knew his son was using even when the son said he wasnt but just didnt act because he didnt really want to know. He would share with me what was going on, and I would think to myself "he's totally using again....how can he be out of money so quick....why was your 17 year old out for two days" and he would just be in such denial. He admits he is an enabler, but he isnt helping in his son's recovering, or letting him hit is low point.

You are right, it is a mental illness and its also very sad.

As a parent, I have to say I knew things were bad but didn't realize how bad. They are SO VERY GOOD AT LYING and you so desperatly don't want your child to be this person you don't know or understand. It is so hard to watch and be in the situation. Reading these accounts makes everything seem so black and white but believe me it is very gray and murky. If it was so obvious, parents would react differently. Teenagers by definition do things to stretch the envelope. By the time you realize there is a problem, it is too late.

I watched it happen to a co-worker. he would come in and complain about his son's behavior every day, and each time I would think to myself "i bet he's taking drugs" and tried to approach the situation but the father defended his son on every account with what ever excuse the son gave, until he was arrested. He got arrested so many more times he went to prison for a year. Its so sad but as a parent its GOT to be difficult ....

I have a brother who has had almost parallel experiences to Nic Sheff. It was interesting because in some instances my brother has told me almost word for word some of the same feelings and experiences that Nic has gone through. It is a devistating disease that I dont think people realize how debilitating it is. not only for the user but for the ones that love them. I have not read Beautiful Boy yet, but I am anxious to see if my experiences parallel his.

Oh Holly - when I read Tweak and Beautiful Boy I swear I thought my co-worker wrote it - just like you said, some feelings were word for word and the experiences were so similar - you are right--its a disease that can destroy more than just the addict and can affect every part of life. Its really sad.

i read both (beautiful boy, then tweak in that order). i too, am glad i did. i found beautiful boy to be heartbreaking and frightening (i have pre-teen children), yet very touching. read both books in a matter of days. after beautiful boy, couldn't wait to get to tweak to find out what that kid was up to all those days/nights while his father worried himself sick. enjoyed both very much for that reason.

I also read both, Beautiful Boy and then Tweak. With Beautiful Boy, I found the message heartbreaking at times, yet hopeful. At times, drug use was almost glamorized in the book -- made it seem not so bad. I read the book over the course of a few nights and each night when I got home from work, I couldn't wait to pick it up again. With Tweak, there were times that I just couldn't continue reading it -- it was just too harrowing. Nik definitely did not make drug use seem glamorous or enjoyable at all. I also enjoyed seeing the differences between the two books and the way each person saw Nik's drug abuse and mental illness.

I would recommend reading Beautiful Boy first. Tweak fills in some gaps in the father's story and I just think it would be more interesting to learn what happened in those "gaps" afterwards, rather than knowing ahead of time. But that's just my opinion.

I read both and I enjoyed both. Tweak was probably a more interesting read in that it was an eye opening to an addict's life. I thought Nic was honest about his experience. I read Leaving Dirty Jersey and it was more graphic. I enjoyed it too. I think what I like most about LDJ was that he wass ever so thankful for his family and i think that Nic might still be "growing".. I think BB was great in that david was truly distraught about what to do and what steps he took to help his son. I think it was informative as to "what worked". David also seemed to be trying to be "cool and hip dad" by quoting "cool and hip" people such as constantly quoting Nirvana. It took away from his honesty and sincerety and seemed to make him desperate to be "cool adn hip" instead pf the worried parent. I was left with questions about both nic and David... Nic supposedly had a rough time on the East Coast prior to this relapse. Is he going to write about that? I found myself wanting to know the "full story" on what happened then. Also did David know what was going on? There weren't too many details about Nic himself in BB, just flashback memories of childhood... if I had read just BB, I would have felt in the dark... Tweak gave me more of the "full picture"... Both were great books...

Does any one know what's going on with Nic now? I'm hoping he's staying clean....

i know that both father and son are going to be at a signing, that i would like to go to, promoting both books. i have not yet read beautiful boy, but it is surely on my to read list!

Are there any other books that will help family understand addiction from the addicts perspective?
Meth and/or Alcohol? Thanks?

Hi,

I didn't read it since it turned out he embellished quite a bit, but James Frey's A Million Little Pieces. It was an Oprah book. My sister read it and said it was good.

Try Jim Carroll's books "The Basketball Diaries" and "Forced Entries"
They will make you cry...
In the Basketball Diaries he is very young... He is getting older in the second book.

nic is a really bad drug addict, without question. I was equally as bad an alcoholic when I was in my late teens and twenties. I landed in AA at age 23 and it slowed me down, but took another 10 years to really get sober. I knew if I ever shot dope heroin, cocaine, I would be gone baby gone, for good. So I stayed with drinking alcohol, cocaine (snorted), and marijuana. Addiction is a terrible thing - alcoholism is a disease that is genetic, my father was alcoholic, so was my grandfather on my mother's side, - drug addiction I believe is a disease of a mental disorder. I have known people like Nic, and many are dead. For that matter, many alcoholics are dead that never got the help they needed that I used to hang with - Nic tells it close to the bone. Not sure you can be any worse of an addict and survive.