The way I decided to read this book was by going into my Kindle library, scrolling for a random amount of time, and then choosing the first book that came up. This was, I would say, a very random way to choose the next book I read, given the enormous list I have of books (that I own!) that I’ve been meaning to read for a very long time. Alas, those books wait still longer. I had not heard much of this book, if anything, and had no expectations going in, really
As for the actual review, I loved this book. The book is written by the father of Nic, who goes through drug addiction. It recounts the events that take place in Nic and his father’s life, and the feelings that come with it. This book focused the most on the impact of drug addiction. Nic was a very important character, certainly, but Sheff does an amazing job tying it into and throughout the real world. With every listing of statistics about drug addiction, you see the grief and pain that caused the very research filling the book.
This book is filled with reflections on what addiction means, what it is. There are no definitive conclusions reached. The point of the book is not to provide the truth on what addiction is, and how to deal with it. It is an account of his experiences, and his thoughts. You are left to have your own opinions. Reading this book, I understood that I would never truly know what the author felt, what Nic felt. And sometimes that is the point.
This was indeed a fantastic book, one that I would wholeheartedly recommend.