Tweak by Nic Sheff (2008)

Nic Sheff is 20 years old and addicted to crystal meth. From the age of 11, he has been experimenting with different forms of alcohol and drugs, and from the age of 18 he has been in and out of various rehabs, but has never reached sobriety. In the fantasy world, Nic is living his life to the fullest, moving on from one adventure to the next, relying on drugs to help him live smoothly. In reality, he is a college drop-out, a sex worker, and has lost all ties with his family, including his two younger siblings.  At the same time, he is grappling with the brutal reality of living with clinical depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder, which makes him take the same drugs he’s addicted to. Going day by day, Nic explores the dark crevices of addiction in his debut and memoir.

By far, I’ve never felt more emotionally attached to a book as I did with Tweak. Nic left absolutely no detail of his life, and cover every thought, feeling, and action he experienced through his years of addiction. While this may sound boring, it was the exact opposite. I found myself going through an emotional rollercoaster with Nic, sometimes being extremely angry at the way he was acting, while other times pushing for him to be his best. While this was an autobiography,  it was written in a fiction-like matter, full of recreated conversations and environments. Still, the most important thing I took away from this book, and why I think everybody should read this, is because it exposed the humanity within addiction. Often times, we tend to think that addiction is a problem far away from our lives, when really addiction can affect anybody, no matter what the situation.

Addiction is an animal that is alive and breathing that will always exist, but behind that animal is a person that has a personality and feelings, and in the end, all we can do is help and support addicts on their road to recovery.

5 Stars