Journal 2: My Addicted Son

The piece that I chose to read was the memoir by David Sheff called "My Addicted Son." I chose this specific article because I know many people, both friends and family, that have battled with drug addiction, so I thought it would be an interesting read. The subject of this memoir was the author's son, Nick Sheff, who battled with drug addiction almost his entire life. Throughout the entire story, you really see how Nick struggled with addiction, and how his father struggled with feelings of guilt and helplessness. It was disheartening to hear how drugs affected this family, but somewhat rejuvenating to see how hard both father and son struggled to climb out. Some of the descriptions in this memoir really caught my eye, and you could really see what the father saw and feel how he felt. That is one of the things I would like to incorporate in my memoir, although I probably will not be able to do it as effectively as this author. I thought his use of dialogue was very appropriate and stimulating as well. He didn't use a lot of dialogue, but when he did, it was purposeful and really drove a point. I was surprised at the scope of this memoir; it felt like it was based on the entire life of his son, and I thought a memoir was supposed to focus on a specific event or happening. Maybe most of it was background, I am not really sure. That aside, I thought this memoir accomplished it's goal very effectively.
The audience in my opinion was anyone who has ever dealt with or seen someone deal with drug addiction. I know there are many people who either have battled drug addiction or know someone who has, so this memoir reaches a really large audience. I thought the point of the story was in some ways to inform, or to teach people the effects of drug abuse on the abuser and the abuser's friends and family. I also think this memoir serves another purpose, it allows people to connect to the Sheff family, people who have been in similar situations, and gives insight for how to deal with such a situation. Regardless of what purpose the author meant for this memoir to serve, it hit me pretty hard; it showed me how much people with drug addictions have to go through, how much their families and friends have to go through, and gave me much respect for those who have gone through it and come out on top.