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Tweak: Growing up on Methamphetamines
By: Nic Sheff. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2007, 325pages, $16.99
Introduction
Too many adolescents have been subjected to the use of drugs as an emotional or even recreational outlet. These teenagers maybe using drugs to help them forget about their feelings and deny they have problems. Several statistics state that nearly 8% to 12% of teenagers use illicit drugs. The most popular drug for adolescents, and appropriately referred to as the “gateway drug”, is marijuana.
Tweak: Growing up on Methamphetamines is an extraordinary account of the author, Nic Sheff’s struggle with marijuana and other illicit drugs. The memoir depicts the effects substance use has on the individual abusing substances and people who surround the addict. Many teens use drugs thinking that they will not become addicted, and it will only be a temporary thing; however, Tweak blatantly shows that it is too easy to become addicted to substances.
Nic Sheff’s Struggles
Sheff’s book is written similar to the way a diary is written and has depictions of events that occurred for 642 days of Sheff’s battle with drug use. The book is divided into two parts, in the first part Sheff writes about his re-introduction to drugs after being sober for eighteen months. He has been living in San Francisco when the book begins and has just run into an old friend, Lauren. After his reunion with Lauren, the two set out looking for some ‘meth.’
Soon the one use turns into a daily thing and the two friends eventually relapse and become addicted again. Soon after, Nic runs out of money and resorts to selling drugs with his new drug partner, Gack. In order to make more money, they decide to mix the real drug with some fake drugs and sell it to other adolescents in a grocery store parking lot. Their plan to make more money failed and soon Nic was stuck addicted to drugs, with no home and no money.
Lauren, Nic’s new girlfriend, is living at home with her parents and asks Nic to come stay with her. After numerous nights of drug use one night in particular got out of control when Nic realized that Lauren was not breathing and realized that she had overdosed. Immediately Nic begins CPR and attempts to save his love. Eventually, Nic gets Lauren to the hospital where she is extremely lucky and makes it through the night.
Lauren’s brush with death makes Nic think about his life and how he is in a downward spiral. Lauren’s parents feel indebted to Nic for saving their daughter’s life and ask him to help her understand that she needs help. Soon Lauren’s parents offer to support Nic and Lauren as long as they attend rehab. Nic defers the offer and instead calls his former sponsor for help.
In the second part of the book, Nic flies back to Los Angeles and is greeted by his sponsor Spencer. In this part of the book, Nic writes about the difficulties and rewards of staying sober. He soon gains control of his life again gets a job, begins to gain weight, exercises, and even begins writing, which was his life long dream. Everything is going well for Nic and he is finally feeling like he has a family with Spencer when out of the blue he receives an email from an old fling Zelda. Nic hesitates responding but ends up replying. Nic and Zelda rekindle old flames and eventually move in together leading to yet another relapse for Nic. Yet again, Nic’s life becomes about finding ways of getting drugs and Nic hits a new low when he gets a serious infection in his arm nearly loosing his entire arm.
Nic completely hits rock bottom when he attempts to steal his stepfather’s computer and breaks in to his mother’s home. At this point, Nic’s parents give him an ultimatum; go to rehab, or go to jail. Nic chooses the route to sobriety and is placed in detox center, after this, he is sent to a rehabilitation center in Arizona where he spends four months. In the end of the book Sheff writes of his struggle with finding himself and realizing his reasoning for abusing drugs.
The last day of the book, day 642, reflects the day when Nic’s mother and father came to Arizona for a family weekend session at the rehab center. In this touching last entry, Nic confesses to his parents why he felt the need to use and his feelings about each one of them. Nic’s mother and father also reflect their feelings about Nic. The book ends with an epilogue stating that Nic has been sober for two and a half years and is currently 25 years old residing in Savannah, Georgia with his girlfriend.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths of this book include the fact that it is an easy read and really goes into detail about what drug use does to an individual’s body. Sheff does a magnificent job discussing his feelings when he was sober and using. Additionally, Sheff has written this book in a way so that you feel as though on you are on this rollercoaster with him. The book helps you understand the ‘other’ point of view; it helps you see what led him to use drugs and seek help.
A potential weakness about the book could also be the fact that it is very descriptive at some parts and may make the reader feel uncomfortable. An additional weakness is that there is a lot of adult content in the text that may not be appropriate for some younger readers. I suggest this book be recommended to teenagers 16 years old and older.
Uses in Psychotherapy
I strongly recommend this book to psychotherapists who treat adolescents struggling with drug abuse. The psychotherapist should recommend this to their adolescent, and struggling with sobriety. If time is limited the psychotherapist should at least read, recommend, and discuss entries from days 5, 6, 9, 92, 167, 578, 581, 635, and 642. These particular entries highlight events that occurred when Nic was under the influence of drugs, becoming sober, relapsing, and becoming sober once more.
Upon reading the memoir, the psychotherapist should discuss feelings and thoughts their client had about the book and how they can relate to the particular instances Nic Sheff went through. Some topics in particular that could be discussed are reasons for the drug use, feelings they have when using, after using, and alternatives they could take when they feel like using substances. In addition, Sheff discussed how he felt how he continuously ruined relationships that could never be fixed. Interpersonal relationships before and after the substance occurred, should also be discussed.
Furthermore, the parents and other loved ones of the client should be asked to read the book so that they can get a feel of the struggles their adolescent may be going through. The loved ones of the client should be asked to discuss reactions to the book with the client, and later these discussions should be talked about in session with the psychotherapist. The book is also a good way for loved ones to recognize potential signs of relapse, prospective measures they should take if relapse does occur, and precautions they should take to prevent relapse.
Concluding Thoughts
I think this book is an excellent portrayal of the effects of drugs and directly shows that it is never too late to take action and turn your life around. The book can help individuals struggling with drug abuse realize there potential in life. Furthermore, the book can help individuals explore their reasoning for drug use and realize the effects it has on loved ones as well as themselves.
Tweak should also be read by parents of addicts in order for them to gain a greater understanding on what emotions, feelings, and thoughts their adolescent is struggling with. Towards the end of the book when Nic Sheff is in a facility in Arizona, he talks about the things that his therapists did and techniques that they used that he thought were helpful. Therefore, the book could also be a wonderful resource of methods and techniques for psychotherapists.
Reference
Sheff, Nic (2007). Tweak: Growing up on methamphetamines. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.