When he was sixteen years old, Ian Morgan Cron was told about his father's clandestine work with the CIA. This astonishing revelation, coupled with his father's dark struggles with chronic alcoholism and depression, upended the world of a boy struggling to become a man. Decades later, as he faces his own personal demons, Ian realizes the only way to find peace is to voyage back through a painful childhood marked by extremes--privilege and poverty, violence and tenderness, truth and deceit--that he's spent years trying to escape.
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.
"Simultaneously redemptive and consoling with bright moments of humor . . . this story is chock-full of sacredness and hope. Cron is one of only a few spirituality authors who could articulate these themes as poignantly."
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"Ian Cron writes with astonishing energy and freshness; his metaphors stick fast in the imagination. This is neither a simple memoir of hurt endured, nor a tidy story of reconciliation and resolution. It is--rather like Augustine's Confessions--a testimony to the unfinished business of grace."
DR. ROWAN WILLIAMS, Archbishop of Canterbury
"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, O.F.M., author of "Everything Belongs"
"Ian Morgan Cron is a brilliant writer. This is the kind of book that you don't just read. It reads you."
MARK BATTERSON, author of" In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day"
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When he was sixteen years old, Ian Morgan Cron was told about his father's clandestine work with the CIA. This astonishing revelation, coupled with his father's dark struggles with chronic alcoholism and depression, upended the world of a boy struggling to become a man. Decades later, as he faces his own personal demons, Ian realizes the only way to find peace is to voyage back through a painful childhood marked by extremes--privilege and poverty, violence and tenderness, truth and deceit--that he's spent years trying to escape.
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.
"Simultaneously redemptive and consoling with bright moments of humor . . . this story is chock-full of sacredness and hope. Cron is one of only a few spirituality authors who could articulate these themes as poignantly."
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"Ian Cron writes with astonishing energy and freshness; his metaphors stick fast in the imagination. This is neither a simple memoir of hurt endured, nor a tidy story of reconciliation and resolution. It is--rather like Augustine's Confessions--a testimony to the unfinished business of grace."
DR. ROWAN WILLIAMS, Archbishop of Canterbury
"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, O.F.M., author of "Everything Belongs"
"Ian Morgan Cron is a brilliant writer. This is the kind of book that you don't just read. It reads you."
MARK BATTERSON, author of" In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day"
I found Ian Morgan Crons biography Jesus, My Father and the CIA to be a fascinating read (I received a complimentary e-book version from Booksneeze.com to review). Sometimes Crons recollection of his childhood living with an alcoholic father is painful but always humorous. As the child of an alcoholic, I knew how to smile and work a room like someone running for re-election, even when there was a spear sticking Crons awe of God as a small child permeates throughout the story with starting with his first communion and his disappointment with God as young boy is heart breaking as his prayers for a better family life are unanswered. Cron unwilling followed his fathers footsteps into alcoholism and became depressed and frustrated with God even as he worked for the church. I didnt want to parse GodI wanted to be swept up in his glory. I didnt want to understand the Holy One; I wanted to be consumed in his oceanic love. I yearned for heaven, and as long as it remained beyond my reach, my life was tinged with disappointment. But Cron comes to forgive his late father and his mother who covered up so much for him and although he still carries the anxiety of whether he can be a good father to his children has come full circle to be the Priest conducting the communion service. Crons is a funny, sometimes irreverent story of a child grappling with God and a dysfunctional family. One of my favourite quotes is from the end of the book were Cron is learning to be less fearful and cautious, a lesson taught to him by his children: There is a big difference in life between a jump and a fall. A jump is about courage and faith, something the world is in short supply of these days. A fall is, well, a fall.
Imprint | Thomas Nelson Publishers |
Country of origin | United States |
Release date | June 2011 |
Availability | Expected to ship within 12 - 17 working days |
First published | June 2011 |
Authors | Ian Morgan Cron |
Dimensions | 212 x 136 x 20mm (L x W x T) |
Format | Paperback - Trade |
Pages | 257 |
ISBN-13 | 978-0-8499-4610-3 |
Barcode | 9780849946103 |
Categories | |
LSN | 0-8499-4610-7 |