All questions refer to the article, MY Addicted Son, by David Sheff. Each Answer each question with a brief essay.
Do you think Nick’s father was justified in confronting him initially over breakfast when he said, “I know you’re using again?” Why, or Why not? Would you handle it differently? (Page 2)
Now put yourself in Nick’s “Shoes.” What do you think Nick felt by leaving home? (Page 2)
How much do you think Nick’s parents’ divorce contributed to his problems? Why? (Page 3)
Nick’s father told him about his past drug use. Should he have lied? Would you volunteer similar information on your drinking/drug use with kids?
Should Nick’s father stopped his college tuition? How much funding for rehab? (Page 5)
What did Nick mean when he confronted his father at the restaurant & said, “Don’t guilt trip me.” (Page 5)
Were Nick’s father’s rationalizations a form of denial? Explain. (page 5-6)
Do you think Nick was sincere in his letter? Why, or Why not? (page 6)
My Addicted Son
By DAVID SHEFF
One windy day in May 2002, my young children, Jasper and Daisy, who were 8 and 5, spent the morning cutting, pasting and coloring notes and welcome banners for their brother’s homecoming. They had not seen Nick, who was arriving from college for the summer, in six months. In the afternoon, we all drove to the airport to pick him up.
Late that night, I heard the creaking of bending tree branches. I also heard Nick padding along the hallway, making tea in the kitchen, quietly strumming his guitar and playing Tom Waits, Bjork and Bollywood soundtracks. I worried about his insomnia, but pushed away my suspicions, instead reminding myself how far he had come since the previous school year, when he dropped out of Berkeley. This time, he had gone east to college and had made it through his freshman year. Given what we had been through, this felt miraculous. As far as we knew, he was coming up on his 150th day without methamphetamine.
In the morning, Nick, in flannel pajama…