Beautiful Boy: Chapter 18 Summary & Analysis

David stays on the West Coast, monitoring Nic’s recovery from afar. He conducts more research on meth addiction and asks experts what they would do if a family member were addicted. They are divided on whether inpatient recovery programs (like Ohlhoff) or outpatient recovery programs (like Hazelden) are more likely to work. Outpatient programs integrate recovery work into an addict’s life, but there are more opportunities to slip.

The goal, experts say, is to keep addicts in treatment long enough to retrain their brains when confronting situations that would lead to relapse. Some programs are designed to teach addicts to stop themselves at the “choice point,” the point at which they decide to use drugs. It also helps identify triggers (the “people, places and things”) associated with drugs that can start a cycle of craving and using.

Researchers are also investigating medications that can counteract symptoms and ease addictions. But top researchers in the field admit that with a lack of funding, it is difficult to feel optimistic about the success of the drugs. Some believe that antidepressants might help addicts because depression is prominent in the early stages of withdrawal, but preliminary tests show that those drugs have little effect. Most agree that behavioral and cognitive therapies are better ways to treat the illness.

In December, Hazelden’s inpatient program closes its doors. Nic chooses to move to LA to live near Vicki in Herbert House. He works with a new AA sponsor named Randy, who has been sober for more than 15 years; the two of them go on long bike rides together. On the phone, Nic seems like “the old Nic.” David is glad that Nic seems to have found a program that suits him. Nic also finds a technician job at another drug and alcohol program, helping to assist counselors and drive patients to appointments.

In July, Nic turns 21. David visits Nic in Los Angeles and is glad to see that he appears “whole again.” Karen has been wary of seeing Nic and wary of Nic hurting Jasper and Daisy again. They wonder how they’ll know when they can fully trust him. Still, at the end of the summer, David, Karen, Jasper, and Daisy visit Nic in LA; they all start to feel more comfortable together again.

Nic calls frequently, reporting things that seem like small steps but to him are huge. He has a bank account and is saving money, and he buys a car and moves into an apartment. Still, some days are difficult: Nic has mood swings and craves drugs. But he says that calling Randy really helps. Nic celebrates a year of sobriety in September.

Nic starts a new romance with a girl, Z., but one day he calls to say that she has broken off the relationship. He calls Randy, and the two go on a bike ride together for three hours. Afterward, Nic is elated, feeling that he’s going to be all right. But a month later, Nic stops returning David’s calls. David isn’t sure why he is so upset, but he feels his intuition saying that something is wrong. He wonders if he is simply being paranoid.

David calls Vicki, asking her to check on Nic in his apartment. She reports that his roommate hasn’t seen him, and his bed hasn’t been slept in. A coworker of Nic’s says that he has not shown up in two days. David calls the police and hospitals, while Vicki files a missing person report. David tries to keep it together, wary of saying anything to Jasper and Daisy before they know exactly what’s wrong.

David continues to try to reach Nic’s cell phone, and he calls the customer assistance for Nic’s cell phone company to see if there have been any recent calls. The woman says that it’s against regulations to tell him, but she empathizes with David. She reports that Nic’s phone is accessing a cell tower in Sacramento. Two hours later, the operator calls back to report that Nic’s cell phone is now in Reno. Later, she calls again to say that it’s in Billings, Montana. David wracks his brain for explanations, even wondering if Nic has been kidnapped. The hours feel endless.