Priestdaddy - Patricia Lockwood

⭐ 9.0/10

(Originally written by Magdalene)

This is the memoir of a woman who is the daughter of a Catholic priest who plays the electric guitar and only wears his underwear when he's at home. She obviously grew up in a very religious household, plus both of her parents are very bizarre. In her early 30s, Patricia and her husband run out of money because of medical bills, so they have to move in with her parents for a while. This memoir is a mix of her experience living with her parents again after ten years, plus stories of her childhood.

The author is also a poet, which is very clear in the book, but her style is much more irreverent than poets usually are. She sees the world in very weird and amusing ways, and her metaphors and turns of phrase are very interesting. With all of her stories of growing up and conversations with her parents, this is a very funny book. Her parents definitely have their flaws, but unlike in The Glass Castle and Educated, they are not actively terrible and abusive, so that was a relief. Her family is Catholic, so there are significant differences from the way I grew up, but still enough similarities that I was able to relate with a lot of what she said. I found it both an entertaining and a thought-provoking read.