The Book of Sheen: A Memoir

The title of The Book of Sheen hints at the significance of the entire Sheen family in Charlie’s story. Whereas he takes great care to lavish praise on his mother and family, his father, Martin Sheen, is the biggest influence on his life. He adopts the Sheen name when he starts to follow in his father’s footsteps as an actor, indicating the extent to which his father is a professional and personal model for Charlie. He jokes about his father’s religious views, referring to his father as the “Pope of Malibu” due to the strict moral standards that Martin developed later in his life (273). The jokes relieve the tension in their relationship but also indicate the extent to which Charlie felt as though he was judged against his father’s example. While he never really attempts to measure up to his father’s moral standards, his attempt to measure up to his father’s professional standards is evident. He refers to Apocalypse Now, a film in which his father played the role of the protagonist, as “the greatest motion picture ever made” (41). When Charlie gets the equivalent role in his own Vietnam film, Platoon, he feels as though he is following in his father’s footsteps. Yet Charlie gradually begins to feel as though the standards set by his father are unattainable. Martin Sheen is a model for masculinity, morality, professionalism, and fatherhood, and Charlie’s early efforts to live up to his father, leaving him feeling inadequate and insecure.

One way in which Charlie finds himself failing to live up to his father’s standards is in terms of fatherhood. Around the time that Platoon is released, Charlie becomes a father unexpectedly. He must balance his duties as a father with his desire to reap the benefits of his newfound fame. Martin Sheen was adamant about being present in his children’s lives. In the early chapters of The Book of Sheen, Charlie notes that Martin insisted his family accompany him on every film shoot. He wants to be present in his children’s lives and emphasizes his duties as a father in the context of his career. Charlie, in contrast, is absent from his daughter’s young life, and the narrative alludes to a quiet resentment that his unexpected fatherhood has burdened him at a time when he feels that he should be enjoying his success. Rather than deal with his sense of responsibility or his guilt at being absent, he masks his inconvenient feelings in substance misuse. This creates a negative feedback loop in which Charlie’s addictions cause him to be absent, prompting him to feel guilt, which he alleviates by using drugs and alcohol, leading him to be ever more absent.

Charlie’s struggles with fatherhood and the guilt he feels over his failure to parent stay with him for a long time. He rightfully takes credit for spending nights in the hospital with his premature twins, but this period of committed fatherhood soon gives way to a sobriety relapse and an abandonment of his duties. At the same time, his father remains a model of morality and fatherhood. Charlie’s brother, Emilio Estevez, also seems more capable of balancing his work and family duties. However, by the end of the narrative, Charlie comes to recognize that his relationship with fatherhood is not sustainable. He comes to realize that his children are not a burden, but a reason for him to commit to sobriety. He slowly begins to take responsibility for his absence, deciding that his guilt should not be channeled into efforts to heal. Sheen takes responsibility for his past failures as a father by reframing sobriety as a path to becoming a present and loving father.