An Analysis of "My Addicted Son"

My Addicted Son, by David Sheff appeared in a February 2005 New York Times magazine. The article focuses on the destruction that drug use has on children and their parents. David's son Nick goes through a difficult life beginning at the age of four when his parents divorced. Through David's memoir, he effectively puts the reader in his shoes to show how frustrating and devastating it is for a parent's child to go through drug use.

The story begins as Nick comes home from a year of college for the summer, and an awkward mix of happiness and uneasiness is sensed. I was intrigued by the reading when Sheff mentioned that Nick was a good brother to his two younger siblings, "when he wasn't stealing from them." I was motivated to read on and discover why Sheff mentioned this line. Methods such as detailed descriptions are evident in the text in order to keep the reader's attention. For example, in one paragraph David describes Nick's appearance at the breakfast table providing vivid details of a hair bleaching accident Nick had. As David recalls parts from Nick's upbringing, a chronological story evolves bringing the reader back to the current setting. The conflict in the story is clearly Nick's drug use and his struggle to give up his drug habits. David has an extremely difficult time dealing with his child's issues and does everything in his power to help Nick, but nothing is effective. David discusses again and again how Nick has went through rehab and therapy only to revert back to drugs several different times. Through this story, I could really feel the frustration David dealt with worrying about his son. Even when it seemed hopeless, David never lost complete faith in Nick. David reflects on what could have caused all these issues in his child's life and reasons that the divorce and weak parenting could be at fault. For this reason, I feel that David's intended audience is other parents who he hopes will not struggle with the same problems. David also uses techniques such as personal flashbacks to his own drug use, and his own experience with crystal meth. He does a good job of telling the story and letting the reader interpret without including his own opinion too much. Later on in the story, David includes a journal entry written by Nick during his stay at a rehabilitation center. This piece of writing allowed me to see into the mind of Nick and get a better picture of his character. The climax of the story occurs when David schedules to meet with Nick at the Steps of Rome for the first time since he ran away. This meeting location brings back nostalgic memories when David's family was together and normal. Nick ensures he can take care of himself yet again and it appears that eventually Nick will die from his drug problem. This is resolved when months later Nick is finally drug-free from additional rehab therapy.

David states near the end of the memoir that he has come to the realization that parents can deal with anything. And I feel that this is his take home message. Despite what happens with their children, parents should always strive to help them live the best possible lives. This story is relevant to those my age because we are the ones who should make good choices for the sake of our parents, because we will be in their position some day.