"A fine storyteller, quick and witty" explores his relationship with his verbally abusive father in a memoir at once hilarious and heartbreaking (Booklist).
"You are a complete disappointment." On his deathbed, Mike Edison's father gasped those words to his son—and that was just the beginning of his devastating salvo. For anyone who has ever suffered from parental bullying, this often-hilarious yet intensely heartbreaking memoir from the former High Times publisher will provide both solace and laughter.
It begins with a child's hunger for love and acceptance and continues through years of withering criticism, perverse expectations, and unfounded competition from a narcissistic father who couldn't tolerate his son's happiness and libertine spirit. In the end, the author unravels a relationship that could never be fixed—but perhaps didn't need to be. In the spirit of Augusten Burroughs by way of Jeannette Walls, Edison's memoir is a candid, devastating, and deeply funny read.
"[The author] gives the heavy stuff appropriate weight without letting it pull down the lighter moments, like his father's memorable outburst over a meatball pizza. Edison's soul-searching creates a moving tribute to being oneself." —Booklist
"His candor and honesty will no doubt connect with many readers who also feel doomed to fail their fathers. Edison's own demonstration of the long, difficult, but sometimes humorous road toward compassion will pave the way for others to follow in his footsteps." —Rain Taxi