Jesus, My Father, The CIA, and Me
A Memoir. . . of Sorts
- History & Biography
- Publisher: Zondervan
- Published: 2011
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Publisher's Description
A touching memoir of life with an alcoholic father who secretly works with the CIA, a dark pilgrimage through the valley of depression and addiction, and finding a faith to redeem and a strength to forgive. "This is a record of my life as I remember it—but more importantly, as I felt it." At the age of sixteen, Ian Morgan Cron was told by his mother that his father, a motion picture executive, worked with the CIA in Europe. This astonishing revelation, coupled with his father's dark struggle with alcoholism, upended the world of a teenager struggling to become a man. Born into a family of privilege and power, Ian's life is populated with colorful people and stories as his father takes the family on a wild roller-coaster ride through wealth and poverty and back again. Decades later, as he faced his own personal demons, Ian realized that the only way to find peace was to voyage back through a painful childhood marked by extremes—privilege and poverty, violence and tenderness, truth and deceit—that he’d spent years trying to escape. A fast-paced, unique memoir about the power of forgiveness from the bestselling author of The Road Back to You Details his father’s struggle with alcohol and Cron’s own journey from addiction to twenty-three years of sobriety Encouragement to see God’s redemptive power through life’s struggles In this surprisingly funny and forgiving memoir, Ian reminds us that no matter how different the pieces may be, in the end we are all cut from the same cloth, stitched by faith into an exquisite quilt of grace.
Endorsements (9)
“Ian Cron walks us through the drama of his life, making us laugh and cry with him every step of the way. His memoir is filled with everything from boyhood stories of celebrating communion in the woods with chipmunks and blue jays, to poignant reflections about growing up with an alcoholic father. Ian’s honesty, vulnerability, and humor will bring a measure of healing to all who go on the journey with him.”
“I like stories. And this is a good one. Ian Cron has a ton to teach the world, and he’s gentle as he does it. Here it is: The Gospel of Ian . . . not in the top four gospels, but it’s pretty magnificent. And it’s sure evidence that God continues to tell the extraordinary story of grace through the lives of ordinary people.”
“Ian Cron has the gift of making his human journey a parable for all of our journeys. Read this profound book and be well fed, and freed.”
Fr. Richard Rohr
“Ian Morgan Cron’s story is a compelling one. . . . Each turn of the page will draw you closer to God.”
“Ian Morgan Cron is a brilliant writer. This is the kind of book that you don’t just read. It reads you.”
“Ian Morgan Cron’s daring writing lays bare the human journey with grace and wit. His confessional words combat despair and illuminate the path toward forgiveness and redemption we are all searching for.”
“Simply the best memoir I have read in years. It is engaging, clever, heartbreaking, and God-drenched in all the right ways.”
“There are some books you have to read—they’re important for your work or required so you can be ‘up’ on what’s happening. There are other books you want to read. These books humanize you, deepen your soul and your insight, help you see the world through the eyes of another. They move you to tears and to smiles and delight you with the craft of the author. This is one of those want-to-read books, a portal that transports you into the struggles of childhood, the agony of alcoholism, the joys of coming of age, the terror and hope of parenthood, and the mystery of faith. Enthusiastically recommended.”
“At once touching and profound, poignant and full of grace, this is compelling writing of the highest order. I can’t imagine anyone not being drawn deeper into the momentum of God’s healing Spirit.”
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