Two

The main subject of the memoir My Addicted Son is the author’s addicted son who is addicted to methamphetamines. The story follow’s the son’s progress through his drug addicted story from the father’s perspective as his son repeatedly tries, fails and tries again to get clean and away from the drug filled life style. This story is particularly relevant nowadays because many teenagers and adults are struggling with drug addictions and family members who care deeply about them are dragged through the torment and agony of watching their loved ones hover in the balance between success and failure. Although the story was about the son’s progress to getting clean what the memoir really captured was the emotional turmoil the drug addicted person puts on their family and/or people who care about them. Coming from the father’s perspective was extremely emotionally trying because the hopelessness that he felt seeped through his words and made the reader see where he was coming from.

I think that the author would have wanted other parents who are going through the same difficulties to read this story to realize that sitting by and doing nothing while your child “experiments” could lead to far worse things. He seems to almost have a regretful tone when he recalls the conversations he had with people where they told him to just let nature run its course and he would stop and although he never actually says it, I think he regrets not interfering more sternly than he had. Although it may not have been his fault he blames himself for what has happened to his son. His story could serve as a warning for other parents to step in and stop drug abuse before it gets too late like it had with his son.

One of the most powerful rhetorical devices that the author used in my opinion was his emotional response to what was going on in his life. The way the author wrote it I could feel every emotional valley and crest that he went through and the progression of how his emotions degraded into a degree of apathy over time. It was somewhat traumatizing watching the proud father of a bright kid diminish in stature until he was no longer thinking along the lines of, “my kid will snap out of it” but instead, “At least he’s alive.” It goes to show how far a parent would be willing to go for their kid but also how much it costs them as well.

Ethos was a major factor in this piece and the author does a good job of sucking the reader in and taking them for a ride on his emotional roller coaster which I think was just what this piece called for.

- Sheff, David. "My Addicted Son," The New York Times Magazine. February 6, 2005.