Tweak

Growing Up on Methamphetamines

De: Nic Sheff

Narrado por: Paul Michael Garcia

Nic Sheff was drunk for the first time at age 11. In the years that followed, he would regularly smoke pot, do cocaine and ecstasy, and develop addictions to crystal meth and heroin. Even so, he felt like he would always be able to quit and put his life together whenever he needed to. It took a violent relapse one summer in California to convince him otherwise.

In writing that is raw and honest, Nic spares no detail in telling us the compelling, heartbreaking, and true story of his relapse and the road to recovery. As we watch Nic plunge the mental and physical depths of drug addiction, he paints a picture of a person at odds with his past, with his family, with his substances, and with himself.

You can also hear Nic's father's perspective in his memoir: Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey through His Son's Meth Addiction.©2007 Nic Sheff (P)2008 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Garcia delivers a strong and commanding reading that perfectly expresses the rawness of Sheff's most personal recollections….Endlessly memorable." (AudioFile Magazine)

"Garcia becomes Sheff, offering a gritty and raw performance that demonstrates just how dire the circumstances surrounding Sheff's existence really were." (Publishers Weekly)

Drugs - the most frustrating issue in our society

I read this after I read Nic's father's book Beautiful Boy by David Scheff. This book was a good accounting, from an addict's perspective of life as an addict. At times I wanted to reach through my headphones and strangle this young author and just yell STOP! Don't do that to your family. Having read his father's account of the agony the family went through and then to read the account of the relative lack of agony the addict went through (sorry, my perspective as a parent) totally by choice was very frustrating. Drugs account for multi-generational problems in our society and if rehab has such a low percentage of success (10-20%???) then what are we to do? For years we have heard that enforcement isn't the answer, treatment is the answer .... But after reading these two books it's obvious that treatment is elusive.

Terrible editing

The reader has clearly edited lines stuck into the story that sound nothing like the original recording. It becomes so obvious and frequent that it's laughable.

excellent narrative

Nic Sheff tells his story with compelling narrative. I'm not an addict (not meth anyway) and I don't have kids on meth, but I really enjoyed listening to this story.

Extremely Compelling, Very Intense

Nic Sheff has artfully and skillfully woven together a beautiful memoir recounting his battle with drug addiction and relationships along the way.
Fair and important warnings: lots of rough language in this read/listen (including profaning the Name of God, and the Name of Jesus). (Also TRIGGER WARNING) There's also obviously a lot of paraphernalia and drug talk that I'm sure would be difficult for someone who might struggle with a physical drug addiction themselves. It's not quite as intense, because it's not first hand experience, but a much cleaner account can be found in David Sheff's "Beautiful Boy."
As one who is still trying to wrest myself away from the grasp of addiction, there's a lot common experience, but the physical impact of drugs isn't the same for me - one of the few things Nic and I don't share in our addictions.
But Nic has a lot of good perspective to offer readers from his memoir, and I appreciated gleaning his difficulties and strengths, and how I relate to those myself.
So if you're trying to shake the worst part or tail end of an addiction, or are thinking about whether you should dive into one, or, alternatively, if you or a loved one are already facing and trying to correct or understand the dynamics of addiction, I think this book has a lot of good stuff to offer you!
His story also sheds a lot of light on how bad relationships might come about, and how good relationships can be put in danger, and I think that's definitely a good, strong added perspective in this book.
So bottom line, if you need a first person perspective on drug addiction, or addiction in general, this is a valuable book for you. But if you would do just as well hearing about it second hand, I'd strongly recommend 'Beautiful Boy' instead.
Thank you, Nic! Healing and peace to you and your loved ones!!!

Shocking story

I was required to read this for a class. this isn't typically my cup of tea, but the story was shockingly inspiring in a few ways. it was also very eye opening to addiction and the role the disease plays in the lives of so many people.