Dear Dad: Letters from an Adult Child

The celebrated comedian presents letters that he has written to his alcoholic father that reveal some of the hurt and guilt he experienced as a child and provides a glance at a source of his best humor

Writing to his late father, for whom he was named, the comic recalls growing up in small-town Minnesota as one of 11 children. It is the material of his comic routines, praised as gentle fun about a wacky family. The reader finds, however, that Anderson is an alchemist, transforming misery into the gold of his career. The family as revealed here was poor and abused by an alcoholic father, once a trumpet player with the Hoagy Carmichael band but whose later poor-paying jobs made him increasingly bitter. The author writes of siblings whose adult lives were badly affected by their drunken, hostile father whom they nevertheless remember with affection. In this poignant, touching memoir Anderson confronts his own insecurities and guilts and comes to understand the parent he had never been close to. The final letter ends, "I love you." 75,000 first printing; $75,000 ad/promo; BOMC alternate; author tour.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Comedian Anderson draws his low-key, family-style comedy from his childhood in a family of 11 children with an alcoholic father. Oversized and known for his "fat" jokes, Anderson recognizes his own addiction to food as stemming from his father's addiction. With this series of letters to his now dead father, Anderson describes his life and his search for his father's past in order to exorcize the demons of his childhood. Despite glimmers of humor, this is not a funny book but a cry from the heart which seeks to alleviate a lifetime of pain. Many people will relate to Anderson's very personal account of dealing with the guilt and trauma of his childhood. BOMC alternate.
-Marcia L. Perry, Berkshire Athenaeum, Pittsfield, Mass.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.