The father I had

Description

A son's funny, sad and tender memoir of a childhood touched by madnessFather and son: arguably the most complex of all family relationships. But what happens when your dad is a manic-depressive who paints the front door in the middle of the night and sends good wishes to Michael Crawford scrawled on a pair of underpants?Martin Townsend grew up with a father, Ron, who had suffered recurring mental illness since the early 1950s. At the slightest emotional trigger he could turn from a loving and compassionate dad to a restless, dead-eyed depressive or a spiteful, bullying monster. In The Father I Had, Martin Townsend, editor of the Sunday Express, paints a powerful, often painful portrait of life with his dad. From the soaring, often hilarious 'highs' to the horrific 'lows' of his father's three suicide attempts, he tells a story of pain, courage and resilience and produces a moving and account of a close family nearly torn apart by mental illness.

Description

"Martin Townsend grew up with a father, Ron, who had suffered recurring mental illness since the early 1950s. At the slightest emotional trigger he could turn from a loving and compassionate dad - adored by his family and friends - to a restless, dead-eyed depressive or a spiteful, bullying monster. One moment he could be building his sons a play-house, the next terrorizing the family and smashing up the council house he had struggled so hard to get. Martin recounts his mother Peggy's courageous struggle to keep her family together in the face of bitter provocation, and his father's battles with his own parents, who were torn between love for their son and their inability to face up to the reality of his illness." "In The Father I Had, Martin Townsend paints a portrait of life with his dad. He describes the roller-coaster route of an illness that is still widely misunderstood but which touches the lives of millions of people. From the soaring, often hilarious 'highs' to the horrific 'lows' of his father's three suicide attempts, he tells a story of pain, courage and resilience. He remembers a father he loved unconditionally - but who would turn on him, as the eldest son, whenever the illness took hold."--BOOK JACKET.

Subjects

Other Editions

• The Father I HadeBookTransworld2009-01-01
• The father I hadBantam Press2007
• Father I HadPenguin Random House1998-01-01