You Are a Complete Disappointment

"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.