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The Novel Beautiful Boy By David Sheff Essay

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According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine, “addiction is a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry.” Throughout the novel Beautiful Boy, David Sheff devotes a considerable amount of time and energy attempting to understanding and mend his son’s fragmenting existence. Sheff’s son, Nic, suffers from a substance addiction that is far too common in contemporary society. The addiction is not only destroying Nic’s mental faculties, it is degrading David’s livelihood through his inability to save his son. When drugs degrade Nic; distress degrades David, when Nic aimlessly wonders the streets; David aimlessly searches, as Nic struggles with drug relapse; David struggles with relapse into emotional degradation, Is not David’s devotion to his son’s safety an addiction?
A recent poll published by CASA Columbia shows that substantial portions of the public still see addiction as a choice rather than an illness. The nature of addiction is not something David Sheff leaves open to debate for his readers. Once David discovers that his son is addicted to meth, he tracks Nic down and unconditionally demands that Nic check himself into a rehabilitation center. During Nic’s first stay in rehab, Sheff meet with a Dr. London, a Professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at UCLA, to gather information on his son’s condition. Dr. London shows Sheff her research on brain functions of meth addicts. Commenting on Dr. London’s work, Sheff

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