For any­one who has ever suf­fered from parental bul­ly­ing, this often-hilar­i­ous yet intense­ly heart­break­ing mem­oir from the for­mer High Times pub­lish­er will bring 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. Mike Edis­on’s warped sub­ur­ban odyssey that pulls no punch­es when it comes to grow­ing up in the 1970s and ​’80s: Ronald Rea­gan, the Rolling Stones, abysmal fam­i­ly din­ners, sex, drugs, ter­ri­fied par­ents, and Jew­ish guilt are just the begin­ning of an ado­les­cence forged in equal parts of self-explo­ration and need­less doubt. 

Edis­on’s mem­oir is a can­did, dev­as­tat­ing, and deeply fun­ny read that is also a potent les­son in grow­ing up to be the per­son you want to be, not the per­son you were told to be.