David Sheff is the author of Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction, a number-one New York Times bestseller. The book was based on his article, “My Addicted Son,” which appeared in the New York Times Magazine and won a special award from the American Psychological Association for “outstanding contribution to the understanding of addiction.” It was published in a dozen languages and named the year’s Best Nonfiction Book by Entertainment Weekly. In 2009, Sheff was named to the Time 100, Time Magazine’s list of the World’s Most Influential People. “Beautiful Boy” was adapted as a film by Amazon Studios and Plan B Entertainment and starring Steve Carell and Timothee Chalamet.
Sheff followed Beautiful Boy with Clean: Overcoming Addiction and Ending America’s Greatest Tragedy, also New York Times bestseller. Clean was the result of the years Sheff spent investigating the disease of addiction and America’s drug problem, which he sees as the greatest public health challenge of our time. He is also the author of HIGH: Everything You Want To Know About Drugs, for young adults written with Nic Sheff. The Partnership for Drug-free Kids honored him with a Special Tribute Award “in recognition of his voice and leadership for families who are struggling with addiction.” He was also received media awards from the College of Problems on Drug Dependence (CPDD), American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP), and American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) “to recognize his compelling portrayal of addiction and its personal effects on families and society as a whole.” In December 2019, Sheff became the first recipient of the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry Arts and Literature Award.
Sheff’s other books include Game Over, China Dawn, and The Buddhist on Death Row: How One Man Found Light in the Darkest Place, about which the Dalai Lama said "This book shows vividly how, even in the face of the greatest adversity, compassion and a warm-hearted concern for others bring peace and inner strength.”
Sheff's famous interviews with John Lennon and Yoko Ono are the basis of his book All We Are Saying. His book Yoko: A Biography is the definitive biography of Yoko Ono and was chosen by the Telegraph as one of their Greatest Books of 2025.
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