New York Times Best-selling Author and Expert on Addiction & Recovery
“Here is a young man who talks about very real issues of drug use and abuse without glamorizing them for a single second. As someone who’s been through so much and come out the other side – with the scars and ongoing challenges to show for it – he has so much to offer students who are locked in their own cages of moderate to severe self-loathing and unease. For school districts uncertain about inviting a former drug addict to speak to the kids, all I can say is, Nic Sheff is the opposite of a bad influence. He might even prove to be a life-changing speaker for some kids in need.”
—Publishers Weekly
Nic Sheff is the bestselling author of the addiction memoirs Tweak and We All Fall Down, and the subject of his father’s bestselling memoir, Beautiful Boy. The film, Beautiful Boy, based on both memoirs is directed by Felix van Groeningen, and stars Steve Carell as Sheff’s father and Timothée Chalamet as Sheff (nominated for five acting awards, including a Golden Globe). Sheff’s first novel, Schizo, was published to critical acclaim in 2014. He has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, CNN with Sanjay Gupta, ABC with Diane Sawyer, Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and The Today Show. His articles have been published in Newsweek, Nerve, Wired, The San Francisco Chronicle, and Vanity Fair. Sheff was a writer on AMC’s The Killing, Freeform’s Recovery Road, and Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why. He has developed TV series with Warner Brothers, USA, Amazon, and Paramount Television. He is sought-after speaker around the country speaking about addiction and recovery.
With unflinching candor, Sheff shares with audiences his harrowing story of addiction and the bumpy road to recovery. Sheff began drinking at 11 and over the rest of his childhood and into his early twenties, he smoked pot regularly, did cocaine and ecstasy, and developed addictions to methamphetamines and heroin. Surprisingly, he felt like he could always quit and pull his life together whenever he needed to. A a violent relapse one summer in California finally led him to sobriety and recovery from alcohol and drugs.
Nic Sheff has been sober over eight years and lives with his wife and two hound dogs (and one cat) in Los Angeles, CA.
Praise for Tweak
“An unflinching chronicle of life as an addict.”
—U.S. News & World Report
“Nic Sheff relates his personal struggle with drugs and alcohol in this poignant and often disturbing memoir.”
—Publishers Weekly
Praise for We All Fall Down
“Nic Sheff captures the insidious, almost vampiric mind-set of an addict who shrinks from any form of light. This book has more in common with Kafka than any recovery memoir I’ve read.”
—Mary Karr, New York Times best-selling author of Lit and The Liars’ Club)
“Sheff’s journey, like his writing, is raw and compelling, heartbreaking and witty. An honest and gracious reflection about the challenges of recovery.”
—Rachel Sontag, author of House Rules: A Memoir
