The first hundred pages of Priestdaddy were a slog for me, for reasons I can’t quite pinpoint. The rest of the book was tough to put down.
The author and her husband are forced to move in with her mom and dad after that classic American problem — needing surgery. The author’s dad is a married Catholic priest and a far right Republican, and the story drifts between returning to her parent’s home after a decade away and flash backs to memories of growing up in a conservative Catholic family — failed hunting trips, youth group with cool guest speakers, and picketing abortion clinics.
As someone who was raised in a very conservative (but politically inactive) family, I’m always interested to read other people’s experiences growing away from the church and finding another path in life. Patricia Lockwood is an extraordinarily talented writer and I’m happy I read this.