First published 2018
Patricia Lockwood brings her acclaimed poetic voice to memoir in this account of Catholic family life. Father Greg Lockwood breaks every stereotype of priesthood. He wears boxer shorts around the house, watches action films, and plays guitar so loudly it sounds like a band crashing. His daughter became an irreverent poet who abandoned the Church years ago. Crisis forces Patricia and her husband to move back into her parents' rectory for eight months. Two worlds slam together. Patricia teaches a young seminarian also living there. She tries explaining Catholic mysteries to her baffled husband, who cannot understand the religion's violence and strange rules. She recalls childhood moments that shaped her: a disastrous hunting expedition, watching her father get arrested at an abortion clinic protest, joining a cultlike youth group. The book moves between raunchy humor and serious reflection on belief and belonging. Lockwood examines how someone builds their own identity while carrying the weight of family tradition.
Genres: family, literary-fiction, christian, autobiography, biography-memoir, 21st-century, family-drama, catholic
Vibes: emotional, intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
352 pages · Paperback · Riverhead Books