{"title":"Books by David Sheff","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780008395476","title":"The Buddhist on Death Row","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom the #1 New York Times bestselling author, an extraordinary story of redemption in the darkest of places.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJarvis Jay Masters’s early life was a horror story whose outline we know too well. Born in Long Beach, California, his house was filled with crack, alcohol, physical abuse, and men who paid his mother for sex. He and his siblings were split up and sent to foster care when he was five, and he progressed quickly to juvenile detention, car theft, armed robbery, and ultimately San Quentin. While in prison, he was set up for the murder of a guard – a conviction which landed him on death row, where he’s been since 1990.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt the time of his murder trial, he was held in solitary confinement, torn by rage and anxiety, felled by headaches, seizures, and panic attacks. A criminal investigator repeatedly offered to teach him breathing exercises which he repeatedly refused, until desperation moved him.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith uncanny clarity, David Sheff describes Masters’s gradual but profound transformation from a man dedicated to hurting others to one who has prevented violence on the prison yard, counselled high school kids by mail, and helped prisoners -and even guards – find meaning in their lives. Along the way, Masters becomes drawn to the Buddhist principles – compassion, sacrifice, and living in the moment -and gains the admiration of Buddhists worldwide. And while he is still in San Quentin and still on death row, he shows us all how to ease our everyday suffering, relish the light that surrounds us, and endure the tragedies that befall us all.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43201241317554,"sku":"9780008395476","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780008395476.jpg?v=1785658615"},{"product_id":"9781471177934","title":"Beautiful Boy","description":"\u003cb\u003eTHE NUMBER ONE \u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e BESTSELLER NOW A MAJOR FILM, STARRING STEVE CARELL AND BAFTA AND GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINATED TIMOTHEE CHALAMET\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ‘What had happened to my beautiful boy? To our family? What did I do wrong?’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Those are the wrenching questions that haunted every moment of David Sheff’s journey through his son Nic’s \u003cb\u003eaddiction to drugs\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003etentative steps toward recovery\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Before \u003cb\u003eNic Sheff\u003c\/b\u003e became addicted to \u003cb\u003ecrystal meth\u003c\/b\u003e, he was a charming boy, joyous and funny, a varsity athlete and honor student adored by his two younger siblings. After meth, he was a trembling wraith who lied, stole, and lived on the streets.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWith haunting candour\u003c\/b\u003e,\u003cb\u003e David Sheff\u003c\/b\u003e traces the first subtle warning signs: the denial, the 3am phone calls (\u003ci\u003eis it Nic? the police? the hospital?\u003c\/i\u003e), the attempts at rehab. His \u003cb\u003epreoccupation \u003c\/b\u003ewith Nic \u003cb\u003ebecame an addiction in itself\u003c\/b\u003e, and the obsessive worry and stress took a tremendous toll.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e But as a journalist, he instinctively researched every avenue of treatment that might save his son and \u003cb\u003erefused to give up on Nic\u003c\/b\u003e. This story is a first: a teenager's addiction from the parent's point of view – a real-time chronicle of the shocking descent into substance abuse and the gradual emergence into hope. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBeautiful Boy\u003c\/i\u003e is a fiercely candid memoir that brings immediacy to the emotional rollercoaster of loving a child who seems beyond help. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eRead the other side of Nic Sheff's bestselling memoir, \u003ci\u003eTweak\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eBeautiful Boy\u003c\/i\u003e:-\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'A brilliant, harrowing, heartbreaking, fascinating story, full of beautiful moments and hard-won wisdom. This book will save a lot of lives and heal a lot of hearts'. \u003cb\u003eAnne Lamott\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'An important book... moving, timely and startlingly beautiful.'\u003cb\u003e Richard Branson\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43204461068466,"sku":"9781471177934","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781471177934_77eb742f-b413-4725-892f-168f213aa5a2.jpg?v=1786020699"},{"product_id":"9781471182204","title":"Beautiful Boy","description":"\u003cb\u003eTHE NUMBER ONE \u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e BESTSELLER NOW A MAJOR FILM, STARRING STEVE CARELL AND BAFTA AND GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINATED TIMOTHEE CHALAMET\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ‘What had happened to my beautiful boy? To our family? What did I do wrong?’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Those are the wrenching questions that haunted every moment of David Sheff’s journey through his son Nic’s \u003cb\u003eaddiction to drugs\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003etentative steps toward recovery\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Before \u003cb\u003eNic Sheff\u003c\/b\u003e became addicted to \u003cb\u003ecrystal meth\u003c\/b\u003e, he was a charming boy, joyous and funny, a varsity athlete and honor student adored by his two younger siblings. After meth, he was a trembling wraith who lied, stole, and lived on the streets.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWith haunting candour\u003c\/b\u003e,\u003cb\u003e David Sheff\u003c\/b\u003e traces the first subtle warning signs: the denial, the 3am phone calls (\u003ci\u003eis it Nic? the police? the hospital?\u003c\/i\u003e), the attempts at rehab. His \u003cb\u003epreoccupation \u003c\/b\u003ewith Nic \u003cb\u003ebecame an addiction in itself\u003c\/b\u003e, and the obsessive worry and stress took a tremendous toll.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e But as a journalist, he instinctively researched every avenue of treatment that might save his son and \u003cb\u003erefused to give up on Nic\u003c\/b\u003e. This story is a first: a teenager's addiction from the parent's point of view – a real-time chronicle of the shocking descent into substance abuse and the gradual emergence into hope. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBeautiful Boy\u003c\/i\u003e is a fiercely candid memoir that brings immediacy to the emotional rollercoaster of loving a child who seems beyond help. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eRead the other side of Nic Sheff's bestselling memoir, \u003ci\u003eTweak\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eBeautiful Boy\u003c\/i\u003e:-\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'A brilliant, harrowing, heartbreaking, fascinating story, full of beautiful moments and hard-won wisdom. This book will save a lot of lives and heal a lot of hearts'. \u003cb\u003eAnne Lamott\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'An important book... moving, timely and startlingly beautiful.'\u003cb\u003e Richard Branson\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43204463394994,"sku":"9781471182204","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781471182204_28787f75-ca69-46e1-a517-825e2f51618f.jpg?v=1786020786"},{"product_id":"9781398517530","title":"Yoko","description":"‘Absorbing' Telegraph‘Gentle, empathetic, committed to righting undeniable wrongs’ Sunday Times, Book of the Week'Illuminating and affectionate… an intimate and perceptive portrait' Publishers WeeklyAn intimate and revelatory biography of Yoko Ono from bestselling author of Beautiful BoyDavid Sheff met Yoko Ono and John Lennon in 1980 when conducting an in-depth interview with them just months before John’s murder. In the aftermath, Sheff and Yoko became close friends as she rebuilt her life, survived threats and continued creating groundbreaking art and music. Drawing from their decades-long friendship and interviews with Yoko, her family, close friends and collaborators, Sheff shares the story of one of the most unlikely and remarkable lives ever lived.   Yoko spans from her birth to wealthy parents in pre-war Tokyo and her harrowing experience as a child during WW2 to her arrival in the avant-garde art scenes of London, Tokyo and New York. We see how she coped under the most intense, relentless and cynical microscope as she was falsely vilified for the most heinous cultural crime imaginable: breaking up the greatest rock-and-roll band in history.   So often remembered only for her impact on The Beatles, Yoko has been caricatured as an opportunistic seductress or manipulative impostor. Yoko delves into her life as an artist, musician, feminist and activist, reframing her incredible achievements independent of Lennon.   Yoko is a harrowing, moving, propulsive and vastly entertaining biography of a woman whose story has never been accurately told. It highlights Ono’s incredible talent and acknowledges her as a true artistic icon.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":57686001713525,"sku":"9781398517554","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":56298333897077,"sku":"9781398517530","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781398517554_354f2b78-a235-4e4c-bdf5-cc580b42abcf.jpg?v=1792599318"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-david-sheff.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}