Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me by Ian Cron

Who can resist the intriging title and that cute little boy on the cover of this book?  Not me! He's even waving at me. What a doll! :)

Cron’s prose reminds me of old black and white family TV shows where it has a voice narrator telling you what the boy is thinking.

At Cron’s first Catholic Holy Communion he describes it as: “It’s the liturgical equivalent of becoming a “made man” in the Mafia.” I’m thinking, “Wow! A religious ceremony where you associate it to being inducted into the mob? Really?”

How does Cron really know for sure that his dad worked for the CIA? His dad’s work was a big secret, and no one knew who all those men in suits were at his dad’s funeral. Maybe his dad actually was a member of the mob, and maybe as a boy Cron invented the CIA job story for his dad so he would have something to tell his friends when they asked what his dad did for a living. The CIA sounds better than the Mafia. Right?

Basically, all Cron wanted to hear his father say before he died was a simple, “I’m sorry, Son, and I love you.”, but unfortunately Cron’s father never gave him that. All he said was, “Nothing’s perfect, Son.”  Okay, so later in the chapters when Cron says he heard a voice say “Forgive me, Son”, was that actually God’s voice whispering in his ear telling him what he needed to hear from his own father many years earlier? Because we all know that God doesn’t need OUR forgiveness.

I think Cron is an excellent writer and story teller. He’s very good at interweaving stories. I thought it was a good read, and I would recommend this book to anyone.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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