Jesus, My Father, The CIA and Me, A Memoir….of sorts; written by Ian Morgan Cron and published by Thomas Nelson Publishers, June 2011.
Love.this.book! If I could give it six out of five stars, I would!
In an engagingly honest style, Iam Morgan Cron takes us through his life’s journey, starting with the experience of being the son of an alcoholic CIA agent, to seeking love and acceptance in a bottle himself as a young adult, to finding his salvation in his wife, children and the church. This is not a gloom and doom book of sadness, nor is it a fire & brimstone urging to find Christ. It is Cron’s real life story, bringing the reader to tears as often through its humor as its poignancy.
No part of the book is as laugh out loud funny as Cron’s experience on his first day as an altar boy at the early mass. No story quite as heartwrenching as his first school concert as first chair trumpet and his Mom doesn’t make it because she has to tend to his drunken father. I could relate to the wonder Cron felt as he lay in bed late at night listening to a radio voice sharing stories of far off places and interesting people. Cron writes these and all of his stories so that the reader smiles at the humor, sighs with understanding, laughs at the wonder, and cries at the sadness.
The story of the little boy, the rebellious teenager, and the troubled adult are all rooted in the author’s relationship – or lack thereof – with his father. Part of this story of forgiveness, understanding and growth is also Cron’s journey towards peace with God. However, this is not at all a preachy book. The religious aspect appears to be almost an afterthought; although I imagine it is why the book was written to begin with. Cron has taken his profound, and often times painful, journey and translated it into a compelling adventure that engages, moves and inspires readers all along the way.
I highly recommend reading this book. Order it HERE from Amazon or HERE from Barnes & Noble. Then, enjoy the journey. You won’t regret it at all.
Note: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. Other than that, neither the publisher, author nor anyone connected to them offered any influence on the content of my review. The opinions I have expressed are entirely my own.
