Tweak Growing up on Methamphetamines by Nic Sheff - A Book Review

Book Summery
Nic Sheff was drunk for the first time at age eleven. In the years that followed, he would regularly smoke pot, do cocaine and Ecstasy, and develop addictions to crystal meth and heroin. Even so, he felt like he would always be able to quit and put his life together whenever he needed to. It took a violent relapse one summer in California to convince him otherwise. In a voice that is raw and honest, Nic spares no detail in telling us the compelling, heartbreaking, and true story of his relapse and the road to recovery. As we watch Nic plunge the mental and physical depths of drug addiction, he paints a picture for us of a person at odds with his past, with his family, with his substances, and with himself. It's a harrowing portrait -- but not one without hope.
Nic Sheff is a recovering drug addict and alcoholic. Still in his early twenties, he continues to fight daily battles with his addictions. His writing has been published in Newsweek, Nerve, and the San Francisco Chronicle. Tweak is his first book.
My Review
Since this is not a fiction book it is a bit difficult to review since I am reviewing the person. I think that it takes a strong person to write about their weakness and put it out there for the world to read. What bothers me about this book is that Nic just wasn't some poor punk kid struggling on the street. He grew up with wealthy some what famous parents where he was around celebrities on a regular bases. This doesn't make his story any less sad or hard to read, it just doesn't make me feel as sorry for him. After Nic wrote Tweak book his father, David Sheff wrote a book called Beautiful Boy. Now I feel like the family, who doesn't need the money, is making a ton of money off of this boys addiction. That is what I have a problem with. I can not decide if I liked or disliked this story, I took it for what it was. But I didn't feel like there was a strong message to end the book. He relapsed after he had written the book. Which I suppose shows that addiction is an on going battle and you have to keep fighting every day. On the other hand you could argue that it doesn't give people much hope. I know and understand that addiction is a strong and powerful thing, I'm going to have to end with being on the fence about this book.