Father’s Day is just around the corner and I realized at least two of the books I’ve loved this year have had a theme of complicated-father relationships.
The first one is a father-daughter relationship that can only be described as redemptive. Lisa-Jo shared about the writing process at a book launch event and she revealed that even by writing the book it led to spiritual and emotional healing not only for herself but for her dad. What a brave thing they did by sharing their story!
This book is lyrically written, but don't let that dissuade you. I know that can be a turn-off for some people. Sometimes people associate "beautifully written=boring" and that's not true of this book; it was captivating with it's shifting timelines that moved back and forth in different periods in Lisa-Jo's life while also constantly moving forward.
Lisa-Jo's story ends with a beautiful redemptive message that is often missing from coming-of-age memoirs. It is hope-giving.
A Favorite Quote:
"The very bravest write new stories. They pick apart their plotlines and find endings that aren't dictated by theif bloodlines. No matter how deep into the narrative they are, the braves believe on ordinary Tuesdays that it's still not too late to write a new ending."
The title, Everything Sad is Untrue immediately makes me think of Revelation 21:5 which says, "I am making everything new!"
Daniel Nayeri tells the story of his exile from Iran which ended up being his exile from his father. He didn’t realize that was what was happening at the time when he, his mom, and older sister had to quickly escape due to his mother becoming a Christian.
The book follows his story as he tries to figure out his new identity as an immigrant while navigating being fatherless yet having a father. Nayeri writes poignantly yet with deadpan humor that makes you admire Daniel and how he never gives up despite just about experiencing every adversity you can think of. It’s a story of childhood resilience.
There's this passage that I had to copy down from the book and also have to share here because captures the tension throughout the book.
A Favorite Quote:
"There are gods all over the world who just want you to express yourself. Look inside and find whatever you think you are and that's all it takes to be good. And there are gods who are so alien to us, with minds so clear, the only thing to do would be to sit at their feet and wait for them to speak, to tell us what is good.
A god who listens is love.
A god who speaks is law.
At their worst, the people who want a god who listens are self-centered. They just want to live in the land of do-as-you-please. And the ones who want a god who speaks are cruel. They just want laws and justice to crush everything.
I don't have an answer for you. This is the kind of thing you live your whole life thinking about probably.
Love is empty without justice.
Justice is cruel without love. . . .
Oh, and in case it wasn't obvious, the answer is both.
God should be both.
If a god isn't, that is no God."
I discovered Sean of the South on Instagram. I didn’t even know he was a writer, I just loved his videos that shared the background stories of songs and depicted him playing his fiddle or guitar. But when I bought a ticket to see him in person this July I discovered he was a writer too, so I started with his memoir.
Wow.
Sean’s life was torn apart due to his father’s actions one night that changed the path of his life forever. The rest of the book is how he figured out how to live the rest of his life after the fact. His stories are hard but like Nayeri, he adds large dashes of humor throughout which makes the experience actually enjoyable, although his circumstances were decidedly not.
Sean has every right to be bitter and blame his father for his challenges in life and yet he sees his father as a human who is not only defined by a series of wrong choices.
Sean’s life shows us what it means to persevere through adversity.
A Favorite Quote:
“My childhood was not a pretty one, but I believe ugly childhoods make pretty people.”
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Although these memoirs all have a central theme of dealing with the legacy of fathers, I’m wondering what’s your favorite memoir? It doesn’t have to be father-related. :)
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