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Beautiful boy is full of moments that make you cry and others that can make you cackle. The author puts a nice blend of both in his story to not bore the reader, although the story is full of heart touching moments. After someone commented about the Sheff family not seeming dysfunctional, David responds, "We are dysfunctional.... I’m not sure I know any ‘functional’ families" (Sheff 14). This shows how the narrator's family is like every other family out there: full of problems. This passage touches the reader's hearts because everyone can relate to it. I specifically consider this quote beautiful writing because it made me feel like I wasn't alone in the world with my problems. Other people and families are going through significant problems right now just like me, which for some reason provided me with some relief.

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In beautiful boy the narrator includes many lessons that the reader can learn from while reading. When beginning to explain the story of how Nic, a drug addict, David states, "We deny the severity of our loved one's problem not because we are naive, but because we can't know" (Sheff 15). This shows how a person can never fully understand what another person is going through in their personal life. The overwhelming theme in this section is that you will never understand the pain others are going through. The major takeaway from this part of the story should be to listen to others' problems but never pretend that you fully understand the severity of what they are going through because it is impossible to.

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In beautiful boy the overarching theme that is alluded to by David Sheff is that parents, although they may feel like it sometimes, truly have no power over their children and their actions. He uses his account of his son's drug addiction to show readers how everyone must live their own lives and decide what is best for them in the long run. At the beginning of the story, Sheff writes, "...our children live or die with or without us. No matter what we do... we cannot choose for our children whether they live or die... I chose... to accept that Nic will decide for himself how... he will live his life" (Sheff 15). This shows that each person is the writer of their own story and must choose how they spend the limited time they have in their life. Although Nic has an extreme example with his actions possibly leading to his death, this lesson illustrates to me that you only have one life so you need to make the most out of it. If you waste your life away doing meaningless or even harmful things to yourself, then you aren't going to be fulfilled as your life progresses.

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The novel beautiful boy is full of gratifying moments that truly feel real. One of the most touching moments in the story is in Kurt Cobain's suicide note, where he states, "I have a daughter who reminds me too much of what I used to be, full of love... because everyone is good and will do her no harm. And that terrifies me to the point to where I can barely function" (Cobain 17). This quote shows how life experiences you gain through your life reveal that some things that appear good at first sight could be the opposite. It means that if you are too optimistic and oblivious about the world around you, nothing good will come from it. I would consider this beautiful writing because it can be interpreted in countless ways and allows you to gain insight about the world. These pieces of writing should be full of valuable information to help readers better understand life and happiness.

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In the novel beautiful boy, the author is forced to come to many harsh conclusions because of his son's drug addiction. The story is full of emotional roller coasters that can drastically change the reader's views on the world. After telling the story of his divorce, David Sheff goes on to say, "No child benefits from the bitterness and savagery of a divorce like ours. Like fallout from a dirty bomb, the collateral damage is widespread and enduring. Nic is hit hard" (Sheff 22). This shows how after this hard to endure experience of guiding Nic through his addiction, the narrator had to come to terms with some of this problem being his fault. It is emotionally devastating to realize for the narrator and the reader, although it was important because it gave the reader hope that David would eventually come to terms with his actions and accept them as being in the past. The writer was most frightened by this moment when he first realized it because it made his son's life terrible and almost led to his demise. The impact of this moment on the writer was it allowed him to eventually realize that you cannot change what is in the past and instead have to accept your actions - whether good or bad.

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David Sheff, even though his novel beautiful boy is a nonfiction story, is full of themes that can be taken away and learned from. Shortly after the narrator hears Nic has been taking crystal meth, he quotes, "O God, that men should put an enemy in their mouths to steal away their brains! That we should, with joy, pleasance, revel, and applause, transform ourselves into beasts" (Shakespeare 105). This shows that some people don't think before they act, even if their actions could be life-threatening. Although, the bigger picture of this quote is that humans are not perfect and sometimes do stupid things. The main takeaway from this part of the story is that even though people do unintelligent things in life, it's okay because they are only human.

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The author uses a pattern of inserting poems and quotes from other famous people before most of his chapters. He does this to allow his audience to connect with him because we can better understand the troubles he faces with other people's words and acknowledge that many others deal with these struggles. For example, before Part 3 of the novel begins, the author quotes Joan Didion saying, "Your safe, I remembered whispering to Quintana when I first saw... half of her skull had been shaved for surgery. I could see the long cut and the metal staples that held it closed... I'm here. Everything's fine..." (Didion 123). This example shows the terrible things that family members of drug addicts have to witness on a normal basis. It achieves its purpose of informing the reader of the dangers of drugs as well as evoking shock from them. It truly was a great way to tie the story together and engage the reader throughout the novel.

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Beautiful boy is full of great writing techniques that Steven King talks about in his book On Writing that makes the novel an easy and exciting read. One of King's advice that David takes into account is to avoid adverbs at all costs. For example, after a doctor tells the narrator that Nic should be fine from his overdose, David writes, "My son will have another chance. For the first time since the early morning phone call, I breathe" (Sheff 201). This shows that David Sheff can use other means of expressing how he felt in these moments rather than using adverbs. Instead of saying, "I breathe," he could have stated, "I feel better," although this author knew to avoid adverbs because of the boring feeling they seem to give novels.

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In the novel beautiful boy, countless emotionally devastating moments make you cry or be fearful for the characters. One of these times is when the narrator suffers from a subarachnoid brain hemorrhage which sends him to the hospital and makes him forget almost everything about himself. His wife, Karen, was the light in the room whenever she entered - giving him hope and happiness every time she came to visit. Although, the most frightening moment to David was when he could not remember the phone number of his drug-addicted son, Nic. He obsessed over the sight of Nic, dead on the streets from an overdose, and could not get any sleep because of it. One day, the narrator is trying to make sense of what happened to him and he thinks, "I recall ... when I fantasized that I could scrape [Nic] out of my brain... I am grateful now to have it all - even the... pain. I no longer... want him erased... I will take the worry in order to take what has come through as the most important emotion after my hemorrhage" (Sheff 248-249). This moment illustrates the importance of pain in one's life - so you can learn and heal from it. Without stress, there is no happiness because you have to overcome the stress to become happy. It shows how this near-death experience impacted the narrator for the better in the long run.

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Throughout the novel beautiful boy, the author hints at many themes to create something for the reader to take away and better themselves with. David Sheff after reading part of a book creates his sort of mantra, stating, "Fortunately I have a son, my beautiful boy. Unfortunately he is a drug addict. Fortunately he is in recovery. Unfortunately he relapses... Fortunately he is not dead" (Sheff 259). This shows that the narrator struggles to find the positive parts of his life even though there is so much of it. What can be taken away from this section of the novel is that everyone should be grateful for what they have because it could be worse. David Sheff is grateful for his son's life because at least he is still alive. This theme helps many readers find optimism when going through tough times in their own lives.

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Many passages in this novel are made to touch the hearts of those reading it, provoking them to think about how the ideas presented relate to their own lives. After David hears about someone that was waiting for their alcoholic mother to have a "near miss" experience which never came, he thinks to himself, "I wish for a near miss for Nic. I pray for a near miss" (Sheff 274). This shows how the narrator wishes for something bad to come to Nic so that he will become aware of the terrible consequences his actions have. I consider this part of the book in particular beautiful writing because of how counter-intuitive it may seem at first glance. Although, when looking more into it, it makes sense why the narrator wishes this on his son: because of his love for him. It is especially beautiful because of how much fatherly love is packed into just those two sentences.

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Beautiful boy is a novel that is packed with important passages that everyone should read at some point. Many passages touch my heart, although one of them is when David comes to an immediate realization and thinks, "Addicts’ families walk an unhappy path that is strewn with many pitfalls and false starts. Mistakes are inevitable. Pain is inevitable... recovery like addiction itself, is a long and complex process" (Sheff 280). This section of the novel shows that addiction, similar to life, is full of ups and downs. If you go into something thinking it will be perfect, it will seem like hell because of your previous position on it. I consider these words beautiful writing because when I read it I felt as if these words were written for me. I was able to take that passage and substitute it in for parts of my life that immediately began to make sense with this new idea in my head.

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The novel beautiful boy is full of obstacles that stand in the way of the happiness of a character. The major one for Nic is that he has become addicted to crystal meth and cannot come to terms with it. He struggles to try and get sober by himself and with other medications but nothing seems to work out for him. One night after he hit rock bottom, he said to his father, "I know... I thought I could stay sober because I wanted to... It freaks me out... I guess this is what it means to be an addict" (Sheff 286). This shows how the only way Nic was able to overcome this intense obstacle was by admitting he cannot control this disease of an addiction by himself and needs the help of a rehabilitation program. It sheds light on the fact that some problems in life cannot be solved by merely one person and is why you should always have close friends that will help you through your lowest points in life.

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Beautiful boy introduces countless close relationships between characters that the reader will go on to remember until years afterward. Although, there were also important relationships between the narrator and objects, such as that between David and his phone. After a doctor explains to the protagonist that there are triggers that bring on anxiety, David responds, "The phone, when it rings, brings on the same state of panic. I am always worried that there is news of another crisis... My body tenses up... I think that everyone feels tension" (Sheff 293). This shows how an object as simple as a phone could have a negative grasp on a person and give them stress. This relationship is significant because the phone signifies all of the possible terrible things that could have happened to Nic such as him becoming homeless, overdosing, or even dying.

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One of the surprisingly vital relationships in the story is David and Vicki's. These two parents of Nic, their struggling drug addict of a son, went through a divorce after he was born and had a very separated relationship because of that. In beautiful boy, when Dave and Vicki both meet Nic at rehab for art therapy, Dave states, "At one point Vicki says that she used to carry around so much anger toward me that it was as if she had on a backpack filled with bricks... But we are now united in one of the most primal of human behaviors, trying to save our child. The therapist says that the weekend is not about blaming, but about moving beyond lingering resentment" (Sheff 302). This quote demonstrates the importance of Nic and Vicki's relationship towards the healing process of Nic. The divorce left a negative impact on Nic - who at the time was very young. The significance of the meeting together with their son is that it allows them to both to figure out how to address the troubles Nic is enduring. Overall, this relationship was truly traumatic to Nic's mental health but their shared love of him brought them back together and allowed their son to thrive knowing his parents do not hate each other.