Writer David Sheff to discuss ending ‘America’s greatest tragedy’: addiction

David Sheff, a freelance journalist and New York Times bestselling-author, will speak at Yale on Friday, Feb. 14 as a Poynter Fellow in Journalism.

Sheff will give a talk titled “Clean: Overcoming Addiction and Ending America’s Greatest Tragedy” at 10:15 a.m. at 55 Park St. The event is co-sponsored by the Abraham Ribicoff Research Facilities at the Connecticut Mental Health Center.

Over the past few decades, Sheff has published articles in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Wired, and Outside, among other publications. Sheff has written popular books about topics ranging from the videogame industry to John Lennon, as well as documentary and radio programming about authors John Steinbeck and Harper Lee.

In 2008 Sheff published “Beautiful Boy,” an award-winning book based on “My Addicted Son,” an article he wrote for the New York Times Magazine about his son’s struggle with drugs. Sheff has since become an advocate for a improving the way that addiction is treated in the American justice system and in society, a pursuit that earned him a place on Time magazine’s list of the “World’s Most Influential People in 2009.”

Sheff’s most recent book, “Clean,” is the result of his interest and investigation into the nature of addiction and the drug problem in America.

The Poynter Fellowship in Journalism was established by Nelson Poynter, who received his master’s degree in 1927 from Yale. The fellowship brings to campus journalists from a wide variety of media outlets who have made significant contributions to their field. Among recent Poynter fellow are Jill Abramson, Nathaniel Rich, and James Bennet.