David Sheff with Jessica Lahey

Addiction is a preventable, treatable disease, not a moral failing. As with other illnesses, the approaches most likely to work are based on science.  Sheff has spent time with scores of scientists, doctors, counselors and addicts and their families to learn how addiction works and what can effectively treat it. He offers clear counsel for parents and others who want to prevent drug problems and for addicts and their loved ones no matter what stage of the illness they’re in. But it is also a book for all of us — a powerful rethinking of the greatest public health challenge of our time.

David Sheff is the author of “Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction,” “Clean,” “All We Are Saying”  and other books. Sheff and his son, Nic, co-authored “High: Everything You Want to Know About Drugs, Alcohol, and Addiction.” David is the founder of the Beautiful Boy Fund, devoted to supporting quality, evidence-based treatment for substance-use disorders and research to further the field of addiction medicine.

“Beautiful Boy” was a number-one New York Times bestseller and the best nonfiction book of the year, according to Entertainment Weekly. It was based on Sheff’s article, My Addicted Son, which appeared in the New York Times Magazine and won a special award from the American Psychological Association for “outstanding contribution to the understanding of addiction.” In 2009, David was named to the Time 100, Time Magazine’s list of the World’s 100 Most Influential People. A feature film adaptation of “Beautiful Boy” was produced by Amazon Studios and Plan B Entertainment and starred Steve Carell and Timothee Chalamet.