Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me: A Memoir...of Sorts

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Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me: A Memoir...of Sorts

by Ian Morgan Cron (Goodreads Author)

4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 · rating details · 664 ratings · 157 reviews

"When I first discovered the grainy picture in my mother's desk--me as a towheaded two year old sitting in what I remember was a salmon-orange-stained lifeboat--I was overwhelmed by the feeling that the boy in the boat was not waving and laughing at the person snapping the photo as much as he was frantically trying to get the attention of the man I am today. The boy was be...more "When I first discovered the grainy picture in my mother's desk--me as a towheaded two year old sitting in what I remember was a salmon-orange-stained lifeboat--I was overwhelmed by the feeling that the boy in the boat was not waving and laughing at the person snapping the photo as much as he was frantically trying to get the attention of the man I am today. The boy was beckoning me to join him on a voyage through the harrowing straits of memory. He was gambling that if we survived the passage, we might discover an ocean where the past would become the wind at our back rather than a driving gale to the nose of our boat. This book is the record of that voyage.""" " When he was sixteen years old, Ian Morgan Cron was told about his father's clandestine work with the CIA. This astonishing revelation, coupled with his father's dark struggles with chronic alcoholism and depression, upended the world of a boy struggling to become a man. Decades later, as he faces his own personal demons, Ian realizes the only way to find peace is to voyage back through a painful childhood marked by extremes--privilege and poverty, violence and tenderness, truth and deceit--that he's spent years trying to escape.

In this surprisingly funny and forgiving memoir, Ian reminds us that no matter how different the pieces may be, in the end we are all cut from the same cloth, stitched by faith into an exquisite quilt of grace.

"Simultaneously redemptive and consoling with bright moments of humor . . . this story is chock-full of sacredness and hope. Cron is one of only a few spirituality authors who could articulate these themes as poignantly."

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

"Ian Cron writes with astonishing energy and freshness; his metaphors stick fast in the imagination. This is neither a simple memoir of hurt endured, nor a tidy story of reconciliation and resolution. It is--rather like Augustine's Confessions--a testimony to the unfinished business of grace."

DR. ROWAN WILLIAMS, Archbishop of Canterbury

"Ian Cron has the gift of making his human journey a parable for all of our journeys. Read this profound book and be well fed, and freed."

FR. RICHARD ROHR, O.F.M., author of "Everything Belongs"

"Ian Morgan Cron is a brilliant writer. This is the kind of book that you don't just read. It reads you."

MARK BATTERSON, author of" In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day(less)

Paperback, 257 pages

Published June 7th 2011 by Thomas Nelson Publishers

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Apr 10, 2013 Pamelabyoung rated it 4 of 5 stars

Ian Morgan Cron is a masterful story teller. His writing style came across as if we were sharing life stories over a cup of coffee. Some parts were so hilarious that I read them aloud to my husband. When you read a book and can't wait to share a part of it with your loved ones, I think it qualifies as a good read. This is a book about learning to live a full life in spite of a difficult childhood, a story of the love and holiness of God, and the sacredness of sharing one's story, no matter how d...more

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Dec 26, 2012 Linda Walters rated it 3 of 5 stars

NOT A LIGHT READ:
Only after a few chapters I found myself becoming angry as I read about this sensitive little boy and how his father terrorized him. How he hoped against hope that finally he would connect with his father; only to have that hope crushed time & again. It was hard to read about the promise of this young boy & how he lived but only survived. He does end up overcoming his past but what a road it was. The writer is very good at drawing a picture with his words as he wrote abo...more

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Oct 14, 2012 Shannon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: faith, nonfiction

Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me is alternately funny, touching and instructive. My husband picked it up at the church book store, in part because Father Cron is our favorite celebrant to lead the portion of the liturgy where we sing to begin communion (this is a priest with a good voice, people). I found his memoir as easy to read as his voice is easy to hear. It didn't hurt anything that his story is so close to my own (and yet so very different).

Like me, Cron is the child of an alcoholic. Un...more

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Feb 10, 2012 Robert Stump rated it 4 of 5 stars

Homo Homini Lupus
http://manisawolftomen.blogspot.com/

Jesus, My Father, The CIA, and Me: A Memoir of Sorts tells the story of the author and of his strained relationship--if relationship it can be called--with his father. From the start Cron grabs the readers attention with pithy anecdotes and personal story that break up the main biographical arc of the narrative. The book moves through the life of the author in a number of stages, and even without their being separated and divided out by the a...more

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Feb 03, 2012 Nancy Kennedy rated it 5 of 5 stars

This account of a boy's childhood blasted by a father's alcoholism and secret life is so lyrical you can almost forget how horrible it was in the living of it. Ian Morgan Cron is a gifted writer who seamlessly weaves together the conflicting emotions and the inner turmoil of this kind of upbringing.

Surprisingly, a wry humor leavens Mr. Cron's relentless tale of sorrow. A few hints of an idyllic boyhood that could have been find their way into the narrative. In particular, I loved the scene in wh...more This account of a boy's childhood blasted by a father's alcoholism and secret life is so lyrical you can almost forget how horrible it was in the living of it. Ian Morgan Cron is a gifted writer who seamlessly weaves together the conflicting emotions and the inner turmoil of this kind of upbringing.

Surprisingly, a wry humor leavens Mr. Cron's relentless tale of sorrow. A few hints of an idyllic boyhood that could have been find their way into the narrative. In particular, I loved the scene in which the author makes creative use of a stash of emergency flares, thus increasing his social capital among the neighborhood toughs. "None of us would ever be so beautifully eleven years old again," he writes.

These moments of relief keep the reader from being utterly crushed by the gargantuan presence of the mean, angry drunk of a father who terrorizes his family to the point of spitting on them and beating them. No less culpable is Mr. Cron's glamorous but frequently absent mother, who finds surprising but necessary success in the working world, yet ultimately fails to protect her children from the wrath of her alcoholic husband.

Mr. Cron's prose is arresting in its beauty. Of the many passages I could quote, one is a scene in which a friend gently confronts Mr. Cron with his growing alcohol problem and then comforts him as he weeps: "There are acts of love so subtle and delicate that the sweep of their beauty goes unseen. I know of none more miraculous and brave than that of a seventeen-year-old boy coming to his friend's side to take his tear-soaked face to his breast."

I was disappointed that this lyricism seems to disappear in the last few chapters of the book. Once the author's crisis is past, he seems eager to imprint the reader with his present near-perfect life as an Episcopal priest and doting father. The writing becomes more pedestrian as the clichés pile up and his conversation begins to include words like "freaking" and "big brass balls." (But I guess there's nothing like having kids for forcing unimaginable words out of your mouth: "No guns at the table!" "We're gonna annihilate the other team, right?!?") He entirely skips over his journey out of alcoholism and into faith. In fact, although Jesus is given top billing in the book's title, he makes rare appearances in the book, and one that particularly startled me.

On the last page of the book, the author places himself squarely in the corner of Rob Bell (Love Wins) and in a few sentences seems able to ease his conflicted self with a confusing and simplistic resolution. But I never argue with a person's experience, just assign it some distance if I can't go along with it. I hope Mr. Cron writes again in more depth about his faith journey. Perhaps then this last page will make more sense to me. (less)

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Jan 21, 2012 Sarah rated it 1 of 5 stars

I've read the reviews for this book - they were what made me want to read it in the first place. I seriously don't see how I am reading the same book as all of these people, because the very things that everyone praises are the things that I think are worst about this book.

Nothing about this book is unique. It's an overgrown blog entry, another hipster Christian book trying to be edgy with pop culture references that will quickly become obsolete and disjointed childhood memories without an overa...more I've read the reviews for this book - they were what made me want to read it in the first place. I seriously don't see how I am reading the same book as all of these people, because the very things that everyone praises are the things that I think are worst about this book.

Nothing about this book is unique. It's an overgrown blog entry, another hipster Christian book trying to be edgy with pop culture references that will quickly become obsolete and disjointed childhood memories without an overarching theme. The writing doesn't flow well or draw the reader into the story - there have been a few moments that felt they could have really shone with some more editing and polishing, but they were scattered between hodge podge and disconnected anecdotes, written in such a jaded and "trying to be funny" tone that it was hard to appreciate them. Instead of describing events or feelings the author refers to movie titles in italics, and sets them out in very clear simile ("It was LIKE Raiders of the Lost Ark. It was LIKE Pineapple Express. It was LIKE Lord of the Flies.") After a while, it becomes jarring and repetitive. The stories are also interspersed with stream-of-consciousness rambling that adds nothing to the book. It isn't cute or quirky or ~random~, it's extremely distracting.

I would complain about this book being like a rip off of Donald Miller's endless literary catalog of daddy issues, except I really haven't felt so far that this book was even about the author's father. So far I've barely seen him - or, for that matter, seen Jesus or the CIA. I hear some things about the father, but he is one-dimensional and removed, not painfully removed as an absent father but just irrelevant and peripheral. The book centers more on a random assortment of the author's experiences, which may or may not be true, and uses other people as the backdrop for the author's mundane and cliche thoughts and experiences. The treatment of other characters is disheartening as well as the author seems to take on a really unflattering jaded tone at times.

I think my strong aversion to this book is born out of the fact that I really wanted to like it. I wanted it to be a memoir that charmed me, that drew me in and made my own life and experiences seem bigger as a result. Girl Meets God: A Memoir did this beautifully, and I was entranced by A Girl Named Zippy and She Got Up Off the Couch: And Other Heroic Acts from Mooreland, Indiana. This book has none of their charm or light, but neither does it have any of the dark interest of truly horrific childhood memoirs (A Stolen Life, anyone?) Very disappointing. (less)

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Dec 19, 2011 David A. rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was predisposed to think Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me by Ian Morgan Cron would be great. It was recommended to me by friends, coworkers, a vicar’s wife I met on retreat, even the editor who asked me to review it for Relevant Magazine's year-end best-of-2011 list. I picked up a humidity-soaked copy at the Wild Goose Festival in North Carolina in June, where the euphoria surrounding the book was palpable.

I normally resist such mania. Anything that gets that many people so quickly in a lath...more I was predisposed to think Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me by Ian Morgan Cron would be great. It was recommended to me by friends, coworkers, a vicar’s wife I met on retreat, even the editor who asked me to review it for Relevant Magazine's year-end best-of-2011 list. I picked up a humidity-soaked copy at the Wild Goose Festival in North Carolina in June, where the euphoria surrounding the book was palpable.

I normally resist such mania. Anything that gets that many people so quickly in a lather must be putting something in their drinks first. That may be why I put off reading the book for six months. But it turns out everyone was right. Cron's book is a good memoir that, in the final fifty pages, turns great.

Memoir is a tricky thing to write, trickier than it appears on the surface. You would think that anyone could do it; it seems like simply putting words to paper to tell the story of your life. Cron's memoir covers nearly half a century of life as he's known it, from his Irish Catholic childhood that splits time between Great Britain and New England, during which (no spoiler alert; it's in the book title) his dad works secretly for the CIA. His dad is also an alcoholic with diagnosed Narcissistic Personality Disorder that quickly caught up with his professional life and wreaked havoc on his home life. Plenty of grist for a sensational story, and to write a memoir based on it, given the zeitgeist, seems like a no-brainer.

Ah, but while anyone can write down their story, it takes talent to write a memoir, to tell an intensely personal story that not only compels the reader forward without losing his or her interest (the line between personal and arcane is as fine as it is unforgiving) but universalizes the themes so that the readers can find themselves, and something beyond themselves, in the telling. This is the feat that Cron accomplishes, moving generally effortlessly between the ethereal and the earthy, the sublime and the silly, all in service to the task of finding a path to true--a spiritual and emotional equilibrium that, for the person, approaches a reconciled self.

The book isn't perfect; Cron wears his fondness for (and debt to) writer and radio personality Jean Shepherd on his sleeve. Shepherd is a featured player in one of Cron's moments of epiphany, who was listening to Shepherd's radio program the night he told the story of a childhood friend whose tongue was frozen to a wintry flagpole. That scene was immortalized in Shepherd's short-story-turned-film A Christmas Story. It was Christmastime as I read Cron's book, and I had visited the house featured in the film A Christmas Story earlier in the year, so I may have been especially attuned to the writing style that Cron clearly emulates. But it's not a bad style to emulate, and besides, Cron's a good writer, so it's a generally pleasant homage.

One of the major themes of the book is the Eucharist, which figures prominently in Cron's childhood story and comes full circle when he, as an Episcopal priest, celebrates the mass at the end of the book. The Eucharist is a sacrament, a dispensation of grace, something that every memoir ought to aspire to, in my opinion, and something that Cron manages to achieve here. He mixes humor and sadness like bread and wine, yielding a conversion narrative that rings true in ways that only emerge from the commingling of suffering and faith, of the altar and the therapist's couch, of the body and blood of Christ. We join Cron in his search for a safe home, a caring father, redemption from a deeply scarred past, even though his story is entirely unique; it is in fact through his unique story that his readers are graced with a fundamental truth of the universe: love always stoops, and faith always jumps.(less)

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Nov 22, 2011 Jakki rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Young Life leaders, children of alcoholics, those wanting inspiration

Shelves: true-stories

I was struck with the profound loneliness and self loathing of the main character as a young teenager all because of the actions of his alcoholic father. His grief as an adult before working through his very dysfuntional childhood brought panic attacks, bad dreams, chest pains, sadness/anxiety, raging anger and his own issues with self medication.

Written as a memoir and wondering just how much of the author's story actually happened and how much was remembering as he thought it happened - the r...more

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Nov 15, 2011 Kj rated it 3 of 5 stars

Jesus, My Father, The CIA and Me - A Memoir of sorts, to give it it's full title, is probably only a 3/5 star book for me.

I don't want to give it two stars, because it wasn't terrible, I guess it just wasn't my genre.

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but if you put 'the CIA' in the title, it sounds like its going to be exciting. It really had very little to do with espionage, and had you taken those two words out of the title it would have reflected the book better. Unfortunately I also proba...more

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Aug 25, 2011 Jennifer Jensen rated it 5 of 5 stars

What a good read! I downloaded it and read the ebook in a matter of hours. Ian’s “sort of” life story is touching, sad, funny, and spiritual. An authentic tale of his life as the son of an alcoholic part-time “Company” man, Ian weaves together the pieces of his past into a tapestry of a quest – one that every believer finds himself in the middle of, at one time or another – the search for an authentic father and a true connection to the perfect Father.
The book has the optimism that only those wh...more What a good read! I downloaded it and read the ebook in a matter of hours. Ian’s “sort of” life story is touching, sad, funny, and spiritual. An authentic tale of his life as the son of an alcoholic part-time “Company” man, Ian weaves together the pieces of his past into a tapestry of a quest – one that every believer finds himself in the middle of, at one time or another – the search for an authentic father and a true connection to the perfect Father.
The book has the optimism that only those who have successfully navigated a dysfunction of the highest order can honestly claim. Ian’s father was an alcoholic who had lost a good paying job that had kept the family very well. Ian had a spiritual upbringing in the Catholic church, and felt his first connection with God at his first communion. Unfortunately, to a young boy, God’s love is relevant in the immediate of his current situation or it doesn’t resonate. For Ian, the ultimate disappointment he felt in God was based on the consistent failings of his earthly father.
As Ian’s life continued, he had many desperate and difficult moments, along with an epiphany or two. One of my favorite comments in the book has to do with a college professor, who answers a student who asks about the meaning of a classic: “Sometimes it’s wiser to reverence than to parse”. Another great moment is when he asks a friend a question about God, and she replies “Son, love always stoops”.
Ian’s story is unique and interesting, with plenty of humble reflection, wise reverence in the glory of God, and in the final analysis, the continuing journey of a Christian who is trying to live up to his calling. In the words of Ian’s therapist: “I want to sit quietly for a moment to honor the story you’ve just told. It was sacred.”
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. 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
(less)

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Aug 18, 2011 Readnponder rated it 5 of 5 stars

I picked this up on the recommendation of Bryan Borger at Hearts & Minds Bookstore in PA. The story grabbed me immediately. Ian's father was an alcoholic and CIA agent. His beautiful wife was the classic codependent. The family lived in England and New England. When the father was sober and employed, the family lived in affluence. Other times, they were on the edge of poverty.
Scenes in the book are absolutely memorble. I howled with laughter when, during leaner times, the family was drivi...more

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Jul 07, 2011 Bob Carlton rated it 5 of 5 stars

You know, there are those books you read and quickly can not recall. There are those books that give you an stray thought or two. And then there are books that get under your skin and transform the way you look at things. This is one of the third kind. This book is powerful, at times even overwhelming. You can not read this book and approach fatherhood or the Eucharist the same way again. You can not read this book and think of Christianity the same way. This book will change you.

Cron's story o...more

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Jun 18, 2011 Kristine Coumbe rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: highly-recommended, memoirs

I was attracted to the title and photo on the front of the book of a toddler in a lifeboat waving. Ian Morgan Cron explains the picture in the first chapter as being beckoned by his past self. Cron also warns the reader: "...I couldn't tell the whole truth about my childhood by rigidly sticking to the facts." Cron aptly concludes chapter 1 with: " This a record of my life as I remember it - but more importantly, as I felt it."

Jesus, My Father The CIA and Me is a "memoir" about growing up with an...more I was attracted to the title and photo on the front of the book of a toddler in a lifeboat waving. Ian Morgan Cron explains the picture in the first chapter as being beckoned by his past self. Cron also warns the reader: "...I couldn't tell the whole truth about my childhood by rigidly sticking to the facts." Cron aptly concludes chapter 1 with: " This a record of my life as I remember it - but more importantly, as I felt it."

Jesus, My Father The CIA and Me is a "memoir" about growing up with an alcoholic father who happens to be in the CIA. When Cron talks about his experience with an alcoholic father I found it rang true and was completely relatable. Many readers who grew up with alcoholism in their family will find Cron's compassionate look back into his childhood a welcome treat. With alcoholism so prevalent in families, Cron's account was completely believable. Ian's father had a hard time staying employed throughout Ian's childhood. Ian recounts living a charmed life in London and Greenwich,CT that bottomed out and then rose again.

As I read about Cron's father being in "The Company" or CIA there is no way I could know what that could feel like. Cron does not get into what his father did specifically and maybe that mystery adds to the "distant alcoholic father" thing. At times, I questioned just how real is the CIA thing? But there was enough incidental evidence to quiet any doubts I had about Cron's dad being in the CIA.

I found the CIA part of the book incredible but fascinating. But, when Ian delved into his feelings of wanting his father's love and approval I just cried. I totally understood that unmet desire as well as wanting to hear your father apologize for his bad behavior. Ian Morgan Cron's Jesus, My Father, The CIA and Me is filled with humor and heart. I highly recommend this book to all.

I received "Jesus, My Father, The CIA and Me" through a reading program called Book Sneeze from Thomas Nelson Publishers and am not required to give a positive review. (less)

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Jun 17, 2011 Melanie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: religion

I have recently been introduced to the genre of Memoir books and find them fascinating! I love hearing about how people learn to take the life they find themselves in and not only reflect back on the past (with all the hurts and bruises) but move forward because or in spite of it. Jesus, My Father, the CIA and Me- A Memoir of sorts by Ian Morgan Cron is just such a story! He is so interesting to read, and such a good storyteller, that I read this book in just a few short sessions.
Ian grew up...more

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Jun 16, 2011 Tina rated it 5 of 5 stars

Lethal Combination: Astute Observations on Life's Poignant and Devastating Moments with a Generous Dollop of Wit and Tenderness

Franz Kafka summed it up well when he said,"I think we ought to read only books that bite and sting us. . . . What we need are books that hit us like a most painful misfortune, like the death of someone we loved more than we love ourselves, that make us feel as though we had been banished to the woods, far from any human presence, like suicide. A book must be the axe for...more

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Apr 16, 2011 Pat W. Kirk rated it 4 of 5 stars

I wonder at the nightmare that is too many childhoods—parents victimized by addiction and children victimized by parents.

The author admits to some fictionalization only because of the inaccuracy of memory. But this story comes from truth. Ian comes from a family who live in the upper strata of what passes for class in America. They go through poverty and then back to prosperity. His father belongs to the CIA and often disappears without explanation. He rubs shoulders with the president and cele...more

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Feb 26, 2013 Melissa rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: memior, nonfiction, own

Ian Cron wrote a heart-breaking and humorous memior about growing up with an alcoholic father. Cron has a true talent for turning a phrase beautifully. His writing style is charming and witty. He admits in his prologue that this book verges on being a semi-fictional autobiography.
This book evokes a very strong emotional response. I wonder if this book was written in part to exorcise old memories, to make them release their hold on the author.

This book is written from a Catholic-Christian perspe...more

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Mar 13, 2012 Patty64465 rated it 3 of 5 stars

Even though I rated this book with 3 out of 5 stars, I think it is a book worth reading. While chapters 1-8 were a little drawn out to me (I would rate those chapters with 2 stars), chapters 9-18 were great! If I was only rating chapters 9-18, I would have given this book 4 stars.

This book is a memoir, and is filled with stories about his upbringing -- some hilarious, some tragic. Other than being a little drawn out for my liking, my lower rating for the first half of the book is because I was...more

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Jul 12, 2011 Amy L. Campbell rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, blogged, reviewed

Note: Review copy provided by publisher.

Cron's memoir, whether of sorts or not, is an honest admission of what it was like growing up with a secretive and emotionally absent alcoholic father. Throughout the narrative Cron struggles with trying to gain his father's acceptance, first through misbehaving and then through overachieving, in an attempt to gain the recognition and love his father was never capable of giving. In the meantime, he manages to earn a degree, find a wife, have his own strugg...more

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Jun 06, 2011 Daniel Butcher rated it 4 of 5 stars

Jesus, My Father, the CIA and Me by Ian Morgan Cron
Ian Morgan Cron in Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me recounts key moments in his life and his growing relationship with God. Cron was born to affluent parents, including a father who was an executive for Screen Gems working in the United Kingdom. His parents socialized with the rich and famous in London, but the senior Cron’s entertainment career was wasted by a curse, the curse of alcoholism. Oh, and his father worked for the fledging CIA on a...more

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Aug 25, 2012 J.E. Jr. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: autobiographical, memoir, kindle-books, treadmill-reads

Overall, I enjoyed this memoir-ish book (the author himself disclaims that it’s not exactly a memoir, in that it contains accounts that may be inaccurate due to the fact that he was four when the events happened!) and found it a worthwhile read.

As a fellow reader has remarked, he deals with troubles in his own past including an alcoholic parent, difficulties with alcoholism and drug abuse in his own life, and other troubles — but he handles these fairly indirectly, rather than giving a play-by-p...more

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Jan 07, 2012 Tom Goodwin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Refreshingly funny and heartrendingly familiar. This book captures the essence of my childhood and so many memories that I thought God would want me to suppress and move past now that I have come to Christ. This memoir helped me to see the that the course of my life is truly a story that God is writing and that He has been present all along. Instead of creating new memories alone (which I do often), I am intrigued to explore the memories of my childhood and ask God to show me His rope that he ti...more

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Dec 23, 2012 Derek rated it 4 of 5 stars

Loved this book! If you're looking for a book that is troubling, inspiring, challenging and hilarious all at the same time, this book is for you. Mr. Cron tells the tale of his life growing up with an alcoholic who worked for the CIA. It's the story of his families survival in the midst of their father's spiral into the depths of his disease. It is also the story of the author's own journey to faith through a combination of the sacred, the terrible and the mundane. He recounts this journey with...more

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Apr 11, 2012 Lynn Davidson rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was hard to put down even when I absolutely had to. It was with caution that I started reading, not knowing what to expect after having read someone’s introduction – but by the time I was into chapter two there was no stopping.

Ian Cron writes with such seeming honesty and transparency that the reader can feel his grief, his triumphs, his struggles. I winced in places, feeling sorrow for his pain, and laughed out loud where he unexpectedly injected humour.

He writes about his tumultuous...more

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Feb 27, 2012 Jillilly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Ian Morgan Cron humbly invites the reader into his life- he masterfully paints a story of pain and rejection with intellect, humor, and raw vulnerability. The story draws you into a disastrous, yet so very human, emotional turmoil that is surrounded by the stunning declaration of God's mercy and His commitment to never turn away His children- to always seek, no matter the brokenness and sin that abounds.

As I read, I often found a grin plastered on my face or an eruption of laughter filling the...more

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Jul 07, 2011 Trinity Rose rated it 4 of 5 stars

Jesus, My Father, The CIA, and Me A memoir…of sorts by Ian Morgan Cron is one fantastic book. This is the second book by Ian and I think his best so far.
The story is mainly about Ian’s life and how he survived an alcoholic father who showed little if any love to him and also how he became the same person without realizing it.
This is an amazing story that held my attention through the whole book. It is a book that is full of despair, hopelessness, but also one of hope, peace and finally love....more

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Feb 10, 2013 Abby rated it 5 of 5 stars

This goes down as one of the best books I have ever read. I think I am most impressed by the writer's skill. He has a unique way with words, expressions, analogies that have never occurred to me before. However, when I read them, it was like a light dawning - that's what I felt before, I just never knew how to say it!
The story weaves through Ian's life, catching bits of his father's story, like a skilled seamstress catching stray loops to make a perfect, smooth hem. The reader is never at a loss...more

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Jul 16, 2011 Agnes Mack rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

Books like Jesus, My Father, The CIA, and Me: A Memoir. . . of Sorts are the reason I love the Good Reads First Reads program so much. It's unlikely I would have picked this up if I hadn't received my free copy but it ended up being a surprisingly touching book.

The synopsis at IndieBound reads: “An autobiography of Ian Morgan Cron, a clergyman in the Episcopal Church,” which is about as inaccurate as a synopsis can get while remaining technically accurate. Based on this description, the blurb...more Books like Jesus, My Father, The CIA, and Me: A Memoir. . . of Sorts are the reason I love the Good Reads First Reads program so much. It's unlikely I would have picked this up if I hadn't received my free copy but it ended up being a surprisingly touching book.

The synopsis at IndieBound reads: “An autobiography of Ian Morgan Cron, a clergyman in the Episcopal Church,” which is about as inaccurate as a synopsis can get while remaining technically accurate. Based on this description, the blurb on the back of the book and the title, I thought I was going to be reading about a CIA agent and his son's religious journey. While both of those things made an appearance, they mainly served as background for the actual story, which revolved around the struggles of Mr. Cron's childhood.

His father was indeed in the CIA, but the more relevant fact was that his father was a drunk. And not the amusing, jovial kind of drunk. He was a pass out on the floor at noon on a Tuesday kind of drunk, get violent with his kids while he was drinking kind of drunk and altogether mostly a dick drunk.

Mr. Cron struggled with his father's disease and made a wide variety of attempts to earn his father's favor. First, he tried to get attention through acting out, then through becoming an overachiever. Thankfully he realized relatively early on that he was simply not on his father's radar and there was nothing he could do.

I found the writing to be very fluid, if a bit simple. This was definitely a fast, straight forward read and the author got right to telling the story and stayed on a mostly linear path. There were a few passages that stuck out to me and that I could really relate to, such as his description of how different authors can affect you differently:

Some authors were like boxers. They took me down slow, landing one left hook after another one inch under my rib cage. Other writers were more precise, like surgeons, cutting through flesh and bone until I was laid bare to myself.

That said, I did have a few issues with the way it was written. First, there seemed to be an awful lot of pop culture jokes / references thrown in that were kind of jarring. I read another review that referred to some of them as dated, which I didn't find to be the case – but they were certainly references that will feel dated in 5 years. I felt that these references mostly fell a little flat and really just served to shorten the shelf life of the book.

Based on the title of the book and what I'd read about it, I expected the spiritual journey to factor much more heavily into the story. Really though, the book basically noted that he attended a youth group in high school and become involved in the church later in life and then the last chapter got into some details about his beginnings with the church. There were a few other references here and there to growing up as a Catholic and his evolving feelings about faith but they were really few and far between.

That said – I was actually really glad that it didn't focus heavily on his religious journey. I am a non-believer myself but, having grown up in the Catholic church, I do have have some interest in learning about other people's relationships to God and how they got there. I was glad that the religious aspect didn't play a very large role at all but I do feel that the title misrepresented that a bit. If someone is looking for a read that focuses on religion, this is not going to be it. There should probably be some reference in the title to the strong focus on alcoholism because I think there's an audience there who would really enjoy this book if they realized that it delved so deeply into the life of the child of an alcoholic.

Overall I am definitely glad I read this book and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to a friend. I found Cron to write with a kind, honest and insightful voice.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Jul 10, 2011 Mike rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-read-in-2011

"Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me" (A memoir of sorts), is a life story of the author, Ian Morgan Cron.

Cron, an Episcopal Minister, takes the reader on a ride of Ups and Downs as he tells the story of his life. Usually, I have found, memoirs of this sort, tend to be of interest to the writer and to their family, however, Cron has woven a story that once picked up, the reader can not put it down.

I found my self laughing and crying (depending on the situation), while reading through this mem...more

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Aug 27, 2012 Terri rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Loved this book!! This author can tell a story. Many times I could just feel his pain but his humor is what really won me over. I laughed out loud several times. A book that can make me cry one minute and then turn around and make me laugh the next is a great book in my opinion:-)

"There is a big difference in life between a jump and a fall. A jump is about courage and faith, something the world is in short supply of these days. A fall, is well, a fall."

"A boy needs a father to show him how to be...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
Q&A with Ian ...: Welcome to the Conversation!	5	6	Apr 06, 2012 08:58am
Q&A with Ian ...: Favorite Authors and Influences	15	13	Apr 06, 2012 05:03am
Q&A with Ian ...: Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me: A Memoir...Of Sorts	6	15	Jan 04, 2012 09:26am
Q&A with Ian ...: Let's Talk about my Quirky Writing Process and More	3	8	Jan 03, 2012 05:52pm
Footsteps UCC: Pa...: Pre: October 6, 2011 Book Conversation	1	3	Sep 14, 2011 06:34pm

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About Ian Morgan Cron

Ian Morgan Cron is an author, speaker, Episcopal priest, and retreat guide.

To introduce others to St. Francis of Assisi, he authored Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim's Tale. His literary debut received accolades from The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Brian McLaren, Fr Richard Rohr, Phyllis Tickle, Tony Campolo, Brennan Manning, and artist Makoto Fujimura.

Thomas Nelson released Ian's new book...more

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“A boy needs a father to show him how to be in the world. He needs to be given swagger, taught how to read a map so that he can recognize the roads that lead to life and the paths that lead to death, how to know what love requires, and where to find steel in the heart when life makes demands on us that are greater than we think we can endure.” — 18 people liked it

“..."love always stoops.” — 3 people liked it

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