Travails of a Father

It is said that the greatest pain for a father is to see his children amble upon a path that brings nothing but misfortune and grief to themselves and those around them. Before your very eyes, witnessing your son squander his potential, steal from younger siblings and fall into the horrific depths of hard drugs will irreparably damage your psyche. These horrors creeped into the life of David Sheff. A father of three, Sheff never relinquished the flame of hope for his eldest son who was a drug addict. His memoir paints the heartbreak and emotional rollercoaster which is the nightmare of every parent. Sheff eloquently pens such a personal story that the reader cries along with the father through the journey of the relationship with his son. His vivid description makes it no mere essay but a shining beacon of excellence that should be used by all writers as a gold standard!

As I peruse through memoirs of all kinds, Sheff’s stands out. His message is mixed with remorse as well as guilt towards the raising of his son. The writer is faced with an epic challenge of curing his sons drug addiction and lifestyle of debauchery. The father faults himself and runs through a plethora of “what if” scenarios. Though the severities of many of our problems are nowhere comprable to those of the father, we find similarities with how we cope in times of distress. As a writer I take from this a valuable piece of advise, write something that somewhere in the world people can identify with.

Anyone who reads this moving piece will understand the gravity of drug addiction on the entire family. To see how the actions of a son and older brother effect the household is truly eye-opening. This is a must-read article for all especially for parents. It allows people to peer behind the veil of a very serious issue that impacts millions of people in America.

Reading this article has provided me a great deal amount of insight into the proper content and organization of an interesting and gripping memoir. The vivid description of emotions captivate the reader. This is crucial for all writers. A memoir must retain the legitimacy of the certain events written about, but at the same time must be interesting for readers. The honest depiction of emotions the family goes through creates a fresco in the minds of the readers. They become part of the family. Sheff has done a great job of conveying his feelings.  

I aspire to write articles which inspire true emotions in the reader. My thoughts and feelings must be articulated in a descriptive manner such that my words will transcend the paper. This is my goal and reading David Sheff’s article has helped me discover it.

THE WAY I PEN

From the inception of my primary school education to the college English class I attend today, my writing style has fluctuated a great deal. Reading books of an amalgam of genres often has an effect on my style of writing. In middle school I was taught to add juicy details to expand my sentences. My 7th grade English teacher expanded my horizons and introduced me to a multitude of various styles of writing. Many times there would be cryptic messages embedded in novels and I would have to plunge deep into the words to understand the meaning the author was trying to convey. I was entranced by the works of Walter Dean Myer’s Monster and George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Due to my ornate biography of Walter Dean Myers, the culmination of my middle school writing stage ended with winning the African American Writing Competition won. My style of writing using lush detail was about to change. 

In my freshman year of high school I became heavily involved in Model UN and debate. These clubs taught me how to articulate my sentiments both rhetorically and on paper. The upperclassmen mentored me while I honed my oratory skills. It was in those clubs that I found my passion for writing speeches and delivering them. During competitions my speeches had to be short but dense with statistics and information. I learnt how to manipulate information and my opponent's arguments. I liked this style of “to the point” writing. From my World History class to Physics Lab reports I would implement my new style. I would have a mission statement/objective and I would relate everything back to it. This style allowed me to convey my sentiments in an organized manner. 

I am known as a loquacious fellow. I love to talk and generally do anything that allows me to bring out my garrulous character. I would like to strengthen my writing skills so I can be equally comfortable writing as I am speaking. I find that in whatever profession comes my way I must be versatile in expressing my ideas in written form. It is imperative that my spelling improves dramatically. Poor spelling is the equivalent of bad breath. It simply reflects poorly on my character if I misspell words before my fellow classmates. I would like to strengthen my skills in grammar so that I can improve the syntax of my essays. Often I feel as if my writing is choppy and doesn’t flow as nicely as I want it. This is a crucial dilemma, which must be gradually resolved. Readers do not like choppy essays nor grammatical imperfections. By increasing my knowledge of syntax I can keep my essay “fresh” instead of bland. By working to perfect these areas of English I can become a well rounded writer free to tackle on everything from chem lab reports to writing essays for my Intro to Islam class.

In addition to strengthening my skills in the areas of English above I would like to expand my vocabulary. Most importaantly I want to be exposed to different styles of writing. I like researching topics relating to foreign policy or politics in general. In this class in particular I would like to better my skills in maximizing the amount of information while also keeping readers who are not familiar with the topic at hand interested. These are all essential components in English that will prove vital to my success in my endeavors.