Addiction and recovery highlights conference

WINNIPEG — Freelance journalist David Sheff understands the allure of addiction and its consequences.

While still a student at the University of California, Berkeley 40 odd years ago, his roommate and best friend died from a heroin overdose.

Even closer to home, Sheff’s eldest child, Nic, struggled with an addiction to crystal meth for several years. Fortunately for Nic, David and the Sheff Family, there was a happy ending.

After several attempts at rehab – and close calls – Nic was able to shake his addiction.

Both father and son have written two books each about the struggle to deal with addiction – Nic from a former addict’s point of view and David from the point of view of the parent of an addict.

On March 20 and March 21, the Sheffs, father and son, will be sharing their story with Winnipeg high school students, health-care workers in the field of addiction and members of the Jewish community attending the Jewish Child and Family Service’s first time “Opening the Door – Conversations About Addiction” conference. (The other keynote speaker will be Paul Garfinkel, former CEO of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto.)

David Sheff admits that he did drugs as a teenager and while in university. “Because I experimented with drugs myself, I can understand the attraction, and I am also aware of the danger,” he says.

He says he first learned that his son, Nic, was smoking pot when Nic was 12 or 13. The response of his teachers, David recalls, was that it was no big deal, that lots of kids were doing it and that Nic was a great kid.

By high school, Nic had graduated to more drugs and developed a particular addiction to crystal meth.

 “Nic was addicted for about 10 years,” David says. “He was living on the street. He overdosed several times. At one point, he faced the possibility of having his arm amputated.”

There was also several attempts at rehab on Nic’s part, always followed by a relapse.

 “Nic’s been sober for five years now,” says his father. “He has been working with a doctor who diagnosed a bipolar disorder. Often, drug problems are connected to other psychological problems.

“The last time that Nic relapsed, he recognized what was happening and got help in time. The accumulation of treatment programs helped him in the long run.”

Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey through His Son Nic’s Meth Addiction, David Sheff’s first book on the family’s ordeal, was released in 2008.

“I wanted to get across the message that what happened to Nic and our family can happen to any family,” he says.

“I also wanted to write about the dangers of crystal meth. I had written an article on the subject for the New York Times and received responses from thousands of people all over America with their stories of going through hell.

“There is a real hunger for information out there. Readers need to understand that addiction is a form of mental illness that needs to be treated by professional addictions specialists rather than in treatment centres that emphasize morality and prayers.”

At the same time that David’s book came out, Nic’s own recollection of what it’s like to be a drug addict was released under the title Tweak.

 “Nic’s memoirs have helped parents who have read it to understand what their children are going through,” David says. “It helps bring families together again.”

Last year, both father and son published second books on the subject of drug addiction. David’s new work is Clean: Overcoming Addiction and Ending America’s Greatest Tragedy, while Nic wrote We All Fall Down, which tells readers that getting better is a struggle, that cravings and insecurity don’t disappear overnight and that setbacks are no reason to give up.

David says Nic, 31, is now married and living in Los Angeles. He has just published a book of fiction and is doing some writing for television.

“Nic’s ordeal brought us all closer together as a family,” David says. (He and his wife have two younger children, Jasper, 20, and Daisy, 17.)

David says he and Nic are looking forward to speaking in Winnipeg. “Strong Jewish communities like Winnipeg’s provide solid support for addicts trying to recover,” he says.