Buy Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines on desertcart.com ✓ FREE SHIPPING on qualified orders Review: An insightful read - As most have mentioned here, this is a great companion read to Nic's father's account of the family issues in his book Beautiful Boy. I think what makes this worth reading, is that you get the full perspective here and much more depth about what was really going on with Nic during the times his family was wondering and worrying. Nic also accurately portrays the disease of addiction, the cravings, the flawed thinking about doing things differently. More importantly, I think there is a clear picture from Nic of the suffering he experienced as a child, going back and forth between his parents, and the issues with his stepfather are made clear as well. In David's book these issues are mentioned and emphasized, but they lack the personal perspective of what the child experienced. This book answers many of the unknowns if David's book and really captures the suffering that lead to the addiction. Addressing the critical concerns: 1. I suggest all folks ignore some of the first pages of the writing style, as the writing skill progresses through the book and the style eases up with the "you knows", "or whatevers", and such. I almost didn't keep reading, but I was glad I did as the author proves himself to be a fine writer, capturing his personal development (or lack thereof) at any given time. I am not sure why the editor did not edit these out, as the work would be more appealing to a broader audience without those forms of common speech embedded. 2. The name dropping, knowing famous people: unfortunately I think this is normal for a lot of people in LA (yes I used to live there) and becomes part of the culture there. I personally think Nic is able to recognize in this work how the allure of "being someone" drew him in, mostly due to his own inadequacies (whether recognized in the moment, he seems to me to clearly reflect this as an issue he addresses in recovery). 3. Ethical concerns about disclosure: I teach ethics and actually I would be okay with the disclosure about his relationship(s) given the assumption that anybody deemed as identifiable was aware and granted permission. I think maybe this didn't happen. Again, this should be part of the publishing and editing process, so I personally would not hold Nic alone overly accountable to this. I was not able to identify anybody specifically, but I assume others in circles in LA may have been able to do so. 4. Lack of maturity in the writing, Nic's apparent selfishness, etc: I agree with some of this, but I actually think it is great because it shows Nic's arrested development which is related to his illness and life traumas. The idea of this book is to provide insight to others on the life of a young addict and if you think he portrays himself as superficial and immature, that is in part due to the reality of his illness and his traumas. 5. Redundancy: yes Nic is in and out of rehab. Yes you know each time he relapses it will end in big bad failure. Yes it gets old, but I think this is part of the accuracy of the portrayal of his life. These repetitions are needed to convey the pain and suffering of the repeated suffering of the addict. 6. Nic's writing skills: room for growth and I can see where the slang and rawness of his approach may bother some folks, but it read real to me given his development when he was writing this. I think his writing skills also reflect a lot about his generation. I think he is also emulating many of the authors he finds inspiring. I am wishing Nic, David, and family some peace, ease, and joy in their life and I hope that they both continue on their healing journey. It's an everyday commitment to healing and everyday new opportunities arise for growth. ~Carey S Clark, PhD, RN, AHN-BC, RYT Review: Lost Soul - Having just finished "Beautiful Boy" recently I had to move on to "Tweak" and close the chapter of Nic and his father and their experiences with drug addiction. Tweak is written by Nic Sheff who is the son of David Sheff. David wrote "Beautiful Boy which I talked about a couple of weeks ago. Tweak takes a slice of the time period from "Beautiful Boy" and tells his perspective as the drug addict giving a depiction of his experiences firsthand. The two books together give you an interesting dual viewpoint of a time period as you understand the turmoil that the father encounters and now the conflicting feelings that Nic felt as he experienced life as a drug addict. Finding himself in a downward spiral with nothing to grab to stop his fall, Nic experiments at a young age quickly moving to hard drugs and at one point is willing to inject or ingest anything that is within reach. He loses ties with all his family members and friends as he steals and lies his way through several rehabs only to relapse back into the seedy world of addicts. Having no money and nowhere to live at points in his life he resorts to prostitution to pay for his habit doing whatever it takes to scrape together enough money for the next day's high. As in most cases (I am guessing) Nic has to find out that while addiction is a disease he must also deal with his personal feelings and reasons behind why he became addicted in the first place. His self image and lack of self worth play such a role in needing the drugs to keep him feeling like he is capable of dealing with normal life situations. His parents have to deal with the roles that they played in setting the foundation of Nic's psychological foundation and struggle with second guessing what they could have done differently to build a healthier environment. In the end it is Nic's life and no matter what happened in his childhood he is the one that has to deal with where he is and make the decision to like himself enough to pull out of the world he has become so accustom. The story is again a difficult one to read but it is such a must for anyone who has children nearing their teen years and beyond. Drugs are so prevalent in our society and I personally feel until we realize this and embrace dealing with the temptations head on we will continue to struggle with our children's temptations. I am making my fifteen year old daughter read this and would strongly encourage anyone with children who has not read these two books to do so. "Tweak" is a little choppy at times in the writing style but the emotion that the book is written with is so abundantly genuine that it reads adequately enough to bring the story across. You find yourself rooting for Nic while at the same time loathing who he is and what he has become. Like all parents I would find it difficult to let go and push my child out of my life but in the world of drug addiction there is only one person that can decide on changing and that is the addict themselves. Hopefully Nic finds his way and the family can heal. I would rate this book as a must read.
| Best Sellers Rank | #9,899 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #1 in Teen & Young Adult Nonfiction on Drugs & Alcohol Abuse #7 in Teen & Young Adult Biographies #256 in Memoirs (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars (4,850) |
| Dimensions | 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.25 inches |
| Edition | Reprint |
| Grade level | 9 - 12 |
| ISBN-10 | 1416972196 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1416972198 |
| Item Weight | 10.4 ounces |
| Language | English |
| Print length | 352 pages |
| Publication date | January 6, 2009 |
| Publisher | Atheneum Books for Young Readers |
| Reading age | 15 years and up |
S**E
An insightful read
As most have mentioned here, this is a great companion read to Nic's father's account of the family issues in his book Beautiful Boy. I think what makes this worth reading, is that you get the full perspective here and much more depth about what was really going on with Nic during the times his family was wondering and worrying. Nic also accurately portrays the disease of addiction, the cravings, the flawed thinking about doing things differently. More importantly, I think there is a clear picture from Nic of the suffering he experienced as a child, going back and forth between his parents, and the issues with his stepfather are made clear as well. In David's book these issues are mentioned and emphasized, but they lack the personal perspective of what the child experienced. This book answers many of the unknowns if David's book and really captures the suffering that lead to the addiction. Addressing the critical concerns: 1. I suggest all folks ignore some of the first pages of the writing style, as the writing skill progresses through the book and the style eases up with the "you knows", "or whatevers", and such. I almost didn't keep reading, but I was glad I did as the author proves himself to be a fine writer, capturing his personal development (or lack thereof) at any given time. I am not sure why the editor did not edit these out, as the work would be more appealing to a broader audience without those forms of common speech embedded. 2. The name dropping, knowing famous people: unfortunately I think this is normal for a lot of people in LA (yes I used to live there) and becomes part of the culture there. I personally think Nic is able to recognize in this work how the allure of "being someone" drew him in, mostly due to his own inadequacies (whether recognized in the moment, he seems to me to clearly reflect this as an issue he addresses in recovery). 3. Ethical concerns about disclosure: I teach ethics and actually I would be okay with the disclosure about his relationship(s) given the assumption that anybody deemed as identifiable was aware and granted permission. I think maybe this didn't happen. Again, this should be part of the publishing and editing process, so I personally would not hold Nic alone overly accountable to this. I was not able to identify anybody specifically, but I assume others in circles in LA may have been able to do so. 4. Lack of maturity in the writing, Nic's apparent selfishness, etc: I agree with some of this, but I actually think it is great because it shows Nic's arrested development which is related to his illness and life traumas. The idea of this book is to provide insight to others on the life of a young addict and if you think he portrays himself as superficial and immature, that is in part due to the reality of his illness and his traumas. 5. Redundancy: yes Nic is in and out of rehab. Yes you know each time he relapses it will end in big bad failure. Yes it gets old, but I think this is part of the accuracy of the portrayal of his life. These repetitions are needed to convey the pain and suffering of the repeated suffering of the addict. 6. Nic's writing skills: room for growth and I can see where the slang and rawness of his approach may bother some folks, but it read real to me given his development when he was writing this. I think his writing skills also reflect a lot about his generation. I think he is also emulating many of the authors he finds inspiring. I am wishing Nic, David, and family some peace, ease, and joy in their life and I hope that they both continue on their healing journey. It's an everyday commitment to healing and everyday new opportunities arise for growth. ~Carey S Clark, PhD, RN, AHN-BC, RYT
J**E
Lost Soul
Having just finished "Beautiful Boy" recently I had to move on to "Tweak" and close the chapter of Nic and his father and their experiences with drug addiction. Tweak is written by Nic Sheff who is the son of David Sheff. David wrote "Beautiful Boy which I talked about a couple of weeks ago. Tweak takes a slice of the time period from "Beautiful Boy" and tells his perspective as the drug addict giving a depiction of his experiences firsthand. The two books together give you an interesting dual viewpoint of a time period as you understand the turmoil that the father encounters and now the conflicting feelings that Nic felt as he experienced life as a drug addict. Finding himself in a downward spiral with nothing to grab to stop his fall, Nic experiments at a young age quickly moving to hard drugs and at one point is willing to inject or ingest anything that is within reach. He loses ties with all his family members and friends as he steals and lies his way through several rehabs only to relapse back into the seedy world of addicts. Having no money and nowhere to live at points in his life he resorts to prostitution to pay for his habit doing whatever it takes to scrape together enough money for the next day's high. As in most cases (I am guessing) Nic has to find out that while addiction is a disease he must also deal with his personal feelings and reasons behind why he became addicted in the first place. His self image and lack of self worth play such a role in needing the drugs to keep him feeling like he is capable of dealing with normal life situations. His parents have to deal with the roles that they played in setting the foundation of Nic's psychological foundation and struggle with second guessing what they could have done differently to build a healthier environment. In the end it is Nic's life and no matter what happened in his childhood he is the one that has to deal with where he is and make the decision to like himself enough to pull out of the world he has become so accustom. The story is again a difficult one to read but it is such a must for anyone who has children nearing their teen years and beyond. Drugs are so prevalent in our society and I personally feel until we realize this and embrace dealing with the temptations head on we will continue to struggle with our children's temptations. I am making my fifteen year old daughter read this and would strongly encourage anyone with children who has not read these two books to do so. "Tweak" is a little choppy at times in the writing style but the emotion that the book is written with is so abundantly genuine that it reads adequately enough to bring the story across. You find yourself rooting for Nic while at the same time loathing who he is and what he has become. Like all parents I would find it difficult to let go and push my child out of my life but in the world of drug addiction there is only one person that can decide on changing and that is the addict themselves. Hopefully Nic finds his way and the family can heal. I would rate this book as a must read.
C**Y
Amazing
A**H
This book was interesting and easy to read but I didn't enjoy it as I'd hoped. Nic is whiny and selfish and pompous at times so I didn't really feel sympathetic toward him. I enjoy reading the memoirs of former addicts and can think of several which I've enjoyed more. A Piece of Cake by Cupcake Brown is excellent, Candy by Luke Davies really drew me in and the older well-known book about Christiane F. stayed with me years after reading it.
M**V
Excelente libro. Por casualidad leí primero el de Beautiful Boy y realmente creo que es el orden correcto para leerlo. Me impresionó mucho, me dió un baño de realidad desde un punto de vista cercano al problema de addicción. Muy recomendado.
O**E
Beautifully written, brutally honest, great read! I started reading this right after I finished reading "Beautiful Boy" by David Sheff and like his father's book, I could not put it down, Nic's writing was captivating maybe because he described a world that was so foreign to me, I never used drugs, none of my friends or family had an addiction problem, drugs was I only hear about Hollywood stars I admire and I would feel sorry for them and that is the exact feeling I had when I was reading Nic's amazing writing, I wanted to cuddle him and protect him from all the bad things, I could not imagine what his parents must have gone through, and I still have a hard time understanding why someone so talented was willing to destroy his life so easily, but that is the problem I guess, addiction is a disease, once you start it takes over, so my wish for Nic is hope he finds one thing that can fill the void in his soul, hope he stays strong and keeps writing because he has an amazing way with words and I can't wait reading more from him! Lastly I have to admit this reading marathon with David & Nic Sheff started with my discovery of ridiculous talented Timothy Chalamet in CMBYN, he is another beautiful boy and gentle soul, I'm so looking forward to watching him in Beautiful Boy, hope Nic stays clean and attends all the film festivals with the cast!
T**A
Tweak is a must read book for someone who's struggling with addiction.. the boy in this book again fall for the addiction when he was enjoying his life for the first time after overcoming from his relapse with the women named Zelda which makes me sad .. some how when I was reading this I started having a feeling for this boy so I didn't want him to relapse again.. also I have watched the movie based on this book called Beautiful Boy act beautifully by Timothée Chalamet.. I really really like his acting..
ترست بايلوت
منذ أسبوعين
منذ أسبوعين
