You Are a Complete Disappointment

May 1, 2016
Telling Mike Edison he was a complete disappointment was just the first salvo of his father's deathbed diatribe. In the same way this list of complaints is both amusing and profoundly upsetting, Edison's memoir about his troubled relationship with his straitlaced dad is a work of humor and pathos. A musician and former editor and publisher of High Times magazine, Edison never fit the constraining mold that his parents considered the only path to success. After his father's parting words put the capstone on a relationship that had been contentious for decades, Edison looks to discover where exactly he and his father got so off-track. Uncovering the truth takes Edison beyond even his childhood to the formation of his parents' belief systems as part of a generation that valued conformity above almost all else. Edison is a fine storyteller, quick and witty, who 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.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)