Beautiful Boy: Chapter 17 Summary & Analysis

David goes to a farmer’s market with Daisy and Jasper, where neighbors—most of whom now know about Nic—ask about him with trepidation. Then, David’s cell phone rings. He answers the phone, but no one is there. There’s a message from Nic, his voice slurring, saying that he’s crashing out and has been sleeping a lot. Nic says that he’s confused and hangs up.

A week later, Nic writes to Vicki. He tells her that he has no money and has been kicked out of the house. He writes another email, telling her that he stole some checks from the mother of a friend and that he may warrant out for his arrest if Vicki doesn’t help him pay the debt. Vicki wants to pay, but David fears that this will simply help him pursue his dangerous path.

Nic continues to disappear and reappear, keeping contact with Vicki but not with David. Vicki persuades him to have dinner with family friends visiting from New York. They are horrified by Nic’s condition and the track marks on his arms. They ask him to come to New York, where he can stay with them and detox. Nic agrees, but his dealer gives him a huge amount meth before he leaves, which he snorts before boarding a cross-country flight.

In New York, Nic sees a psychiatrist who specializes in addiction. The doctor prescribes sleeping pills, and Nic sleeps for most of a week, experiencing the physical withdrawal and mental anguish. A week later, a bank calls to tell David that someone wrote a check for $500 on a closed account. David feels traumatized, having been robbed by his son.

A month later, Nic sounds less desolate. Vicki helps Nic move into an apartment in Brooklyn, and Nic gets a job. He tells David that he wants to return to school, paying his own way. He also says that his doctor thinks it’s fine to smoke pot or have an occasional glass of wine so that he can “keep even.” David worries, thinking of a study that shows an addict is 12 times more likely to relapse on meth if he smokes pot or drinks alcohol.

Soon after, David gets a call from Nic’s stepfather at five o’clock on a Sunday morning. He tells David that a doctor in Brooklyn called, saying that Nic is in critical condition and on life support. David calls the doctor, who explains that someone called 911 because Nic was unconscious. He says that if the EMTs hadn’t responded right away, Nic would have died. David knows that Nic has been irresponsible, but he also knows that he loves him more than ever.

David makes arrangements to fly to New York. Soon after, the doctor calls back and tells David that Nic should pull through. David is able to breathe again. He calls the hospital later in the day. Nic is hardly coherent, but he asks to go into another program, saying it is his only chance.

David drives to the airport and calls the hospital again. The nurse informs David that Nic checked out against the doctor’s orders, simply pulling out his IV and leaving. David hangs up and drives home, thinking that if this overdose didn’t stop Nic, he doesn’t know what will. David does not sleep that night.

Nic calls back in the morning from his apartment. He says that he freaked out in the hospital and had to get out of there. Nic asks if David is coming, begging to go to rehab. David agrees, hoping that this is what “hitting bottom” means. David flies to New York to help check him into Hazelden rehab center. When Nic arrives at his hotel, he looks gaunt and haggard.

The next morning, David and Nic go to Hazelden, the nation’s best-known drug and alcohol rehabilitation center. It is an ongoing program of six months, and patients are required to work or attend school. There is a long list of rules, but they are able to come and go as they please, as long as they are present at dinner and required meetings and appointments. Nic has an admission appointment, and then he and David say goodbye. They hug, and David thinks that Nic’s body feels brittle and fragile.