Ron's #38: Beautiful Boy by David Sheff

 Beautiful Boy is subtitled "A Father's journey through his son's addiction."  I first saw this book for sale in a Starbucks several years ago, and it sounded compelling. I saw it in Entertainment Weekly magazine, and I read about it in a few other places. Our school library had it in a featured section, and I took another look at it last month. The topic hit me more than before now that I have two sons. What if one of them became a drug addict? How would I react? Just reading the jacket blurb made me feel that ache in my heart over losing one of my two boys to a destructive habit, so I decided that it was time to read it.I'm glad that I did. Sheff is a master at this format, taking the reader through many aspects of addiction, especially in addiction to methamphetamines. He writes the account in present tense, an odd decision as most stories are commonly told in past tense. Shaff's present tense makes us going along the journal with him. This technique helps the narrative feel more important and uncertain.

The strongest aspect of this story is a father's love for his son. Shaff's commitment to helping Nic at great cost to himself is (mostly) admirable. I felt his pain at seeing his son after a binge of meth, I sensed his fear with waiting for a call saying that Nic was dead, and I connected with his hope that this relapse would be the last relapse, even though we know it won't be. This made me look at my sons differently. What if I'm going to remember this time right now 20 years from now when I wait to hear the doctor tell me whether he'll survive the overdose. Will I reminisce about this Christmas in 20 years after I attend yet another parent support group for drug addicts? This book helped me to appreciate my boys more than ever before.

Another aspect that I liked about this book is the information on methamphetamines, and the danger they pose. There is no drug as unstable and the results so uncertain as meth, and Shaff offers much in the current treatment for this an other drugs. I've not read many or even any books on drug abuse, so this was useful. Along with this point, I see that our culture often makes too many jokes about meth addicts and tweakers. There certainly is nothing funny about this terrible drug, regardless of what Breaking Bad portrays.

I hesitate to criticize the book, as it is an account of a family's pain, so I'll only make a few comments about what I sensed as problematic. The first glaring one is the family's disdain for God in this. God "appeared" in many different ways through the story, and I hoped that Nic or David would reach out and trust his guidance. Rather, there was hostility towards him on Nic's part, and indifference on David's. the other area that I saw was Nic's compete freedom as a child.  As a father, Shaff seemed to have no limitations on David in regard to what he watched or friends he spent time with. Later, Nic acknowledged that some of his problems stemmed from being treated as an adult and never being a child. That's an interesting statement. I was shocked to hear that as a young boy, fifth grade or so, Nic could recite the opening line to Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, a movie certainly not intended for boys. Nic needed a father, but Nic got a cool dad who liked cool music and cool movies.

Of course, he didn't do drugs because he watched a rated R movie, but there is something to be said about exposing our children to the influences of the world, especially too early. And, we would do so much better as parents if we set standards rather than trying to be our children's buddies. That does not good. At one time in the narrative after Nic has had problems with drugs, he asks David to smoke pot with him, and David agrees. While I appreciate the truthful addition, it should that there is something askew in this relationship.

Tis was a minor annoyance in my enjoyment of the book. I thought it was excellent in many regards, no I'm so glad that I read it. Anne Lamont has a quotation on the cover that sums up my thoughts on it: "This book with save a lot of lives and heal a lot of hearts." I can see how both aspects of that cold be true.

Ron's #37: Through Painted Deserts by Donald Miller

I've been a mild Donald Miller fan over these past few year, first reading Blue Like Jazz during a trip in Bali. I remember sitting on the balcony of our hotel overlooking a green garden with this book about God and Portland. I liked Miller's view of Portland far more than his view of God, a post-modern grandfatherly-type begging for his children to relax a bit. Aside from either of these, I loved Miller's poetic prose. He writes with profound description and quiet beauty, a style that makes me pause to consider not his ideas as much as the sentence structure and content.

After Blue Like Jazz, I read his next book, Searching for God Knows What, and I thought that most interesting part of the book was its clever title. Miller's PoMo poster child status went into overdrive, and I lost interest. In 2009, I picked up A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. In that book, Miller chronicles his post-Blue Like Jazz doldrums while planning a movie version of the book. The producers realize that the autobiography doesn't have enough story in it, and work to add more story in his life story. This causes an existential crisis in Miller, and he begins ways to live life more fully, more story-worthy. From the three books, this was by far my favorite. A search for authentic life, comparing our lives to the elements of a story, as well as Miller's excellent writing style make an excellent book, one that I plan to reread. I was a fan again. (Side note: I watched Blue Like Jazz, the movie version, and it was one of the worst movie I've seen in a long time.)

His earlier book, Through Painted Deserts, appeared as an audiobook on NoiseTrade, so I downloaded it and listened to it last week. It tells his road trip with his friend Paul from Houston to Oregon. I enjoyed reading his first impressions of Portland, a city that he and I both love, as well as his experiences with people and situations along the way. His writing style has developed in later books, but his writing voice is still clear, bright, and insightful. There are moments where the self-reflection feels too overwrought, and I never fully understood the difference between the overarching questions of The How's and the Why's. but that is no matter. I enjoyed spending a bit of time on this trip, and Miller was an engaging host.

I'm sure my future reading lists will include new books by Donald Miller. He's an intriguing writer with much to say and many stories to tell.

JRF's #47 - My Jakarta by the Jakarta Globe

This book is a collection of 200 + pages of interviews conducted by of anyone and everyone in Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia and the world's 2nd largest metropolitan area with more than 28 million souls.

From street buskers to politicians to gay rights leaders to fundamentalist muslims the people and perspectives offered in this collection are as numerous as the islands that make up Indonesia.

This book would be interesting to virtually any reader who has an interest in culture and urban life.  However, since Sarah and I are pursuing a life of work in this city, the information captured in these pages was fascinating and exciting.  It has helped put a face on this overwhelming city.  Many seeds of ideas for opportunities to meet the felt and real needs of these precious people have been planted as a result of reading their stories.

JRF's # 45 - A Free People's Suicide by Os Guinness

I read most of this for November's Apologia, but then took my time finishing it up.  It has already been reviewed by Mark and Ron so I won't reiterate the premise of the book.

My favorite part of the book were where Guinness showed the historical progression of democratic theory throughout the classical world and then compared and contrasted the American and French Revolutions.  The emphasis on the imporatance of history was refreshing and helped my thinking as I read through 1984 simultaneously.

The biggest weakness in my opinion was that while he did a good job of showing that a strong democracy demands a strong faith, I felt he barely even discussed why or why not a strong Christian faith demands a democracy.  The passion of my heart and goal of my life is not to secure democracy but serve the Kingdom of Christ.  My concerns for the sustainability of democracy are subserviant to my concern of the spread of the Gospel.  I felt like that aspect was missing from this book.  Perhaps that is a book for a different audience.

JRF's # 44 - The Freedom of Self Forgetfulness: The Path to True Christian Joy by Tim Keller

This short book by pastor and author Tim Keller is an exposition I Corinthians 3:21 - 4:7 focusing on how a person who has been set from sin through Christ should esteem themselves and others.   In a few short chapters Keller dissects this powerful passage of scripture and lays bare the core of humanity's problem -  sinful, self-centered pride.

From there Keller shows how our basic bent towards selfishness and pride is at of the root of both those who esteem themselves too highly and those who "suffer" from low self esteem.  This section is an insightful exploration into a biblical view of the natural condition of the human ego and how Christ can rescue us from ourselves.

Keller goes on to explain that Christ doesn't transform our view of ourselves but actually transforms our very self.  Finally, Keller brings us back to I Corinthians and shows through Paul that ultimately it is not how others view us or even our view of ourselves that sets us free but it is God's view of us that matters and that through Christ, He can justly view us as holy and precious in His sight.  Our sinful nature and deeds no longer define us in Christ. We are accepted "because of what the Lord Jesus has done.  Then, the only person whose opinion counts looks at me and He finds me more valuable than all the jewels in the earth."   That is freedom.

A very helpful, powerful little book.

JRF's #43 - Create: Stop Making Excuses and Start Making Stuff by Stephen Altrogge

This book by a Sovereign Grace pastor is like having a motivational speaker in paper form.  It's not incredibly deep, and the content is not overly original, but what is said is said enthusiastically, optimistically, helpfully, and clearly.  Altrogge reminds his readers that part of being created in the image of God is that we all have the ability to create and that this ability is given to us in order to bring praise to God, not ourselves.  Since worship is the motivation, we can be free from the hindrance of fearing what people think of our creativity.  And as we continue to be faithful in flexing our creative muscles, we will often improve the quality and efficiency of our creations.

Altrogge also confronts other excuses we often give for not starting or finishing creative projects, like laziness, doubt, and business, showing from Scripture why those are not legitimate reasons for neglecting and failing to foster what talents and passions God has given us.

As someone who struggles with all of these excuses, and as someone who firmly believes that Christians need to once again be a meaningful voice - if not the dominant, trailblazing force - in culturally important sectors such as art, exploration, and literature, this book was a great little reminder and motivator.