My Exaggerated Life: Pat Conroy

by Katherine Clark (Other)

An oral biography that reveals the Southern author's true voice

Pat Conroy's memoirs and autobiographical novels contain a great deal about his life, but there is much he hasn't revealed to readers—until now. My Exaggerated Life is the product of a special collaboration between this great American author and oral biographer Katherine Clark, who recorded two hundred hours of conversations with Conroy before he passed away in 2016. In the spring and summer of 2014, the two spoke for an hour or more on the phone every day. No subject was off limits, including aspects of his tumultuous life he had never before revealed.

This oral biography presents Conroy the man, as if speaking in person, in the colloquial voice familiar to family and friends. This voice is quite different from the authorial style found in his books, which are famous for their lyricism and poetic descriptions. Here Conroy is blunt, plainspoken, and uncommonly candid. While his novels are known for their tragic elements, this volume is suffused with Conroy's sense of humor, which he credits with saving his life on several occasions.

The story Conroy offers here is about surviving and overcoming the childhood abuse and trauma that marked his life. He is frank about his emotional damage—the depression, the alcoholism, the divorces, and, above all, the crippling lack of self-esteem and self-confidence. He also sheds light on the forces that saved his life from ruin. The act of writing compelled Conroy to confront the painful truths about his past, while years of therapy with a clinical psychologist helped him achieve a greater sense of self-awareness and understanding.

As Conroy recounts his time in Atlanta, Rome, and San Francisco, along with his many years in Beaufort, South Carolina, he portrays a journey full of struggles and suffering that culminated ultimately in redemption and triumph. Although he gained worldwide recognition for his writing, Conroy believed his greatest achievement was in successfully carving out a life filled with family and friends, as well as love and happiness. In the end he arrived at himself and found it was a good place to be.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Memoir, Books About Books

346 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 13, 2018

Reviews

[Diane Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know how to describe this book, an oral autobiography by Pat Conroy. If you are expecting the soaring, beautiful prose that is his trademark in his novels, you won't get it here. This is his voice as though you and he were having a (one-sided) conversation. Laced with profanity, anger, and wonderment at his life, he is honest to a fault. We all know that his books are thinly disguised autobiographical fiction, and this fills in all the blanks. His journey to publication at the beginning is mind boggling in the luck and coincidences that got him published at all, and in how he continued. I think it's safe to say that his books were "revenge writing", even the non-fiction.

I wish I could say this book elevated my opinion of him; it did not. Pat Conroy was not a saint, but a very flawed human being who seemed to be his own worst enemy. He knew that and admitted it, but couldn't seem to change it. He even gave his therapist permission to share her thoughts, so he didn't try to sugar-coat anything. Thank goodness he found some peace at last with his third wife.

A must read for his fans.

[Claire Fullerton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, the gift of this delightful book. The thing about Pat Conroy is those who get him really get him and can never get enough. It has been repeatedly written that readers feel as if they know him. That he wrote in the first person was part of what spawned the relationship between Conroy and his readers, the rest of it is that he had an uncanny way of unabashedly calling things by name and spoke for us. And any Conroy devotee knew he was healing his shattered history by veiling it in fiction. We knew it and didn’t care because not only was he charming, he was a master storyteller. Conroy wrote from the center of his sardonic personality. Once he had you, he dove down to universal truth and brought you to your knees. This business of life is not for the meek, he suggested, but there is rhyme to it, poetry, in fact, and in his fiction, he figured out how to survive it.
My Exaggerated Life gives us the man behind the curtain. On its cover is Conroy wearing his infamous flight jacket and Citadel ring, which his fans will recognize as symbols of his personal narrative. Conroy was that kind of writer. His books were mind-altering drugs and his readers were addicts who had to have more. Katherine Clark has given us more in what seems to me a labor of love. That she spent two hundred hours listening to Conroy spill out his life over the telephone to assemble this book makes me jealous, but I’ll overlook that in favor of the resounding result.
What struck me most in reading My Exaggerated Life was the realization that there was no separating the man from his craft. It’s Conroy’s voice that does it. In these pages speaks a storyteller of the highest order telling an incredibly entertaining story, it just so happens to be culled from a series of events in his life. You can intuit the haphazard way he stumbled from cause to effect as his writing career took shape. Reading Conroy’s books always made me feel they were born without effort, so to discover in this riveting book just where the struggle had been hit me as staggering—not because parts were painful to read, but because he framed it in such a human way that readers will think, you too?
At the end of My Exaggerated Life, Katherine Clark shares the speech Pat Conroy delivered spontaneously before a crowd of adoring fans in Beaufort, South Carolina at his 70th birthday celebration. In it, Conroy claims “What I wanted to be as a writer, I wanted to be a complete brave man that I am not in my real life.” He did just this in My Exaggerated Life. In an act of bravery, Pat Conroy told his story, and author Katherine Clark captured it in a book that is one for the archives.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This beautifully-written book is a gift to the legions of readers who consider Pat Conroy to be their literary hero. He is brutally honest about his life and never anything but humble about his accomplishments. He leaves a wonderful legacy. Most impressive is that he will be remembered not only for his writing prowess, but - more importantly - for his unerring kindness, humor and compassion.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a Pat Conroy fan, this is a must read. Masterfully put together from daily conversations the author had with Conroy, it reads like an auto-biography but somehow richer. It provides incredible backstory for his novels and definitely made me want to go back and read all his books again.

[Jay Darcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes, I think Pat Conroy understands me more than anyone else in the world. His writing has become my close friend, and it makes me feel less alone in the world. I'm sad I never got a chance to meet him, or at least write him a letter and thank him. One day, I will finish reading all of his work, and I'm already dreading and grieving that day.

Reading this book made me feel like I was sitting in his living room as he shared stories from his life. He doesn't censor a thing. All the joy, all the pain, all the success, and all the failures - they're all there. I love how frank and funny he is. Even through the most cringe-worthy stories, I found myself laughing at the way Conroy described them.

[Shari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone who knows me well knows that Pat Conroy is absolutely, no question, my favorite writer. This book isn't a book you start with if you haven't read his work, though; this is a book you read after you've already fallen in love with his storytelling and after you've heard his voice, literally. Immediately after Pat Conroy died in 2016, my husband downloaded podcasts for me, mostly Pat Conroy speaking to Terry Gross on NPR's "Fresh Air." For the past couple of years I've listened to them whenever I just need to be a little quiet. I'll go on a walk through my neighborhood and listen to his voice for a half-hour or so. I mean, I have every word memorized, and his voice is familiar and comforting to me.

And that's what you really need to appreciate this book, I think, or to love it like I do. You need to hear Conroy's voice. I read this entire book, the product of hundreds of hours of recording conversations with Katherine Clark, and I heard his voice on every page. I read it a little at a time before I went to sleep at night. I could have read it in a day, but I didn't ever want to come to the last page, because I know I'll never hear a new word from him again. I loved every single word of this book and every single moment of reading it and I'm brokenhearted all over again now that it is finished.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meeting Pat Conroy was one of the highlights of my life. For a few minutes I thought I was the only person of interest to him, a hallmark of the way he greeted people, especially his fans. Anyone who has read his work, as I have, knows a lot of the story covered within, but there is a lot you don't know unless you read this. No doubt many people who have wronged him or been an ass got called out. Having read a share of oral biography, I liked very much the way Clark presented his words, almost as if you were sitting there listening in person. I was shocked by the behavior of some folk, even if Conroy seems to forgive them or make light of misbehavior. I felt a bit sad for him. I wish he had had a better life, but then perhaps we wouldn't have been given the wonderful stories he told so well. There were so many parallels with my own experiences (at a much lesser degree thankfully), that so much of what he wrote and told hit me right in the heart over the years. He doesn't cover much of his last marriage (but that is covered well in her own book). I miss not having another one of his books to look forward to.

[Becky Morlok · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the only book I have ever picked up and put down multiple times because I could not bear to finish it. It was so incredible to hear Conroy's "voice' again. He died a month after we lost our home in a house fire. I couldn't bear it.

This book is simply OUTSTANDING. I would give it a 10 if I could. Katherine Clark did an incredible job and I envy her having had the phone times with Conroy towards the end of his life.

As I was finishing this book I learned that a group of authors, including his wife, Cassandra King are coming out with OUR PRINCE OF SCRIBES this Fall. That was gift enough to go move me to finish My Exaggerated Life. CANNOT WAIT to read more Conroy stories.

Still, I really miss Pat Conroy.

[Barbara Nutting · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like I have just read a 324 page obituary that Mr Conroy wrote himself. I don’t know who Katherine Clark is, but the writing sounded exactly like all the books written by Conroy. 90% of this biography consisted of things I had read in his previous publications.

I am amazed at how his childhood and teen years effected his whole life - with all his success he was still a little boy damaged by horrific parents. What a shame.

I have Cassandra’s book in my library stack TBR, interested to read her angle on this troubled man.

[Lisa Mooneyham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one-of-a-kind life story is so awful and hopeful all at once. The fact that Pat Conroy was able to build a happy life in the end is a testament to his sheer determination. Definitely worth a read!

[Fredr · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a entertaining read and it had some insights into his difficult life that came through in all of his books. He did live an exaggerated life.

[Missy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! I almost felt Pat Conroy come roaring back to life in this self dictated book. His prose is so eloquent that there are moments I have to look up words or re-read sentences just to understand simple nuances. The self told story is an experience I will never forget. I got to know the gentle bear of a man from his heart and his unmistakable poetic musings.
He made me take do a double take about this honest, raw ,humble and noble man. We lost one of the greatest writers As I stepped into this book just for a moment Pat Conroy the man was back and as sweet, real and fierce once again. I realize I just love and miss him. This was a very real and moving autobiography.

[Beverly Mccollum · Rating 4 out of 5]

My rating is actually a 4.5. This was simply fabulous for any fan of Pat Conroy. It’s an engrossing look at the author’s life- flaws and assets alike. He truly bared his soul to the writer and it was quite the ride! You will laugh-shake your head -and cry. I’d highly recommend it to anyone who loves Pat Conroy.

[Roger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again it shows how abuse can sometimes produce genius although tortured. If you have read his books this is a must read

[Brian Laslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extended conversation with Pat Conroy. Katherine Clark's book has returned Pat's voice to our bookshelves and our hearts.

[Lenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very entertaining description of Pat Conroy's life! Katherine Clark does an excellent job describing all the little peccadillo's involved in what makes up Pat Conroy's life!

[Jeri Rowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm always leery of oral histories.

No matter if the writer interviewing can turn a phrase, they can be hamstrung by what they can get from the interviewee. Think of it like a bowling alley. You can only go so far with the narrative until you run into some gutter, some barrier. And interviewees, they can ramble and take the writer down these blind alleys no matter how good the questions are. But sometimes, blind allies are fun and oral histories can strip away the veneer of the famous and infamous because they have agreed to reveal everything for all to read.

That's what happened here, and Pat Conroy lets it fly. I got this book for Christmas, so I used my pencil much marking places in the text. For example ...

Conroy on poetry: "Poetry is the highest form language can take. I always start off my day with poetry. Before I get going every morning, I try to read an hour of poetry. I like starting out the day with poetry; I like what it does, how it constructs your language. Poetry seems to say the most in the fewest possible words. With poetry, you take the stock and boil it down to where it's a glaze. It is the elixir of language."

Conroy on anxiety: "The thing about anxiety -- it never leaves, it just moves elsewhere. It almost had you yesterday, but then you got away. So the forces of anxiety simply shifted, the troops are in movement, the infantries are on the go. They're on foot, and they're finding something else right now. They have their eye on things that you love."

Conroy on therapy: "Therapy seemed to open up my life, which I liked a lot. Self is an unknown territory for many people. It ain't to me. I think the best country you can visit is that of self, and if you have never done that, you've missed a great part of life."

Conroy on his past: "Much of what we do in life is repair work on our childhood."

Conroy on raising kids: "I will always think there is something missing from anyone who does not raise children. I think it puts you into the great flow of man and mankind to be part of that. It ratifies your part in the planetary motion. And there is something about the raising of a child: it does change you. It is a different way of looking at the world, not through me but trying to look at the world to make it safe for them. If we all did that, it would humanize the whole world."

Conroy on writing: "Your service is to your art, and nothing else makes any difference in the world, not your love of your mother, not your love of your children .... So it is the writer's job to say something, to tell the truth. And I am a writer. That's the only thing I've ever been or ever could do well, and I try to tell the truth in my writing."

And the last paragraph:

"If you're reading this, then taht means Conroy sent ya. You don't look at the world from an eagle's point of view. You look at it from a scorpion's point of view, down there low in the earth, your back hunched, your spine ready. But that's good. That's good because it's really hard to make it through a life."

Yeah, Conroy does ramble. And he does come across as crass. But the crassness and his blind-alley rambles reveal the demons within he battled his whole life. It all makes Conroy human, something we all can identify with whether we liked his books or not. I liked his books. So, Katherine Clark's book is a treasure.

[James · Rating 1 out of 5]

I enjoy Pat Conroy's writing in small doses, I've read all his books. But his entire life story could be summed up in one phrase: "It's not my fault." He spends most of this book blaming his father, mother, brothers, sisters, and wives for all of his misfortunes. He doesn't stop there. Pat spends many chapters criticizing Catholicism, relating that his sexual confusion early in life, and his infidelity later, was a direct result from horrifying experiences with religion. Essentially, his life was one long, sad search for validation.

If you've read Conroy's books, you know his fiction is much the same, with main characters who seem to be melancholic, anxiety-ridden and depressed all the while blaming everyone around them.

In this memoir, Conroy is full of excuses why he is suicidal and makes terrible life choices. He admits he marries the wrong women, cheats on his wives, ignores his children, and starts unnecessary and childish drama at every turn. Not once in hundreds of pages of drivel did Conroy take any true responsibility for the actions that determined his life path. He's the quintessential Beta Male on display. Pat was born a few generations too early, because even at 90 years old, he's a Millenial to the core.

Chapter after chapter of Conroy repeating his often-told mantras that he's an ineffectual man-child because his father beat him and his mother withheld her affection. And what chapters don't endlessly dwell on his childhood trauma are filled with humble bragging where Conroy explains in dozens of different scenarios how he is the White Knight of all oppressed people groups including African-Americans, Women, and Homosexuals. During these propaganda pieces, Conroy is careful to add that everyone around him consisted solely of misogynists, outwardly vocal racists, and gay-bashers. Thank God for ol' Pat Conroy because the world as he sees it would fall to pieces without his righteous intervention.

It's hard to believe that any intelligent man could live a life so utter void of responsibility. Perhaps he's simply parroting his psychiatrists. Perhaps Conroy truly has the emotional intelligence of a 7 year old homeschooled child. Or perhaps Pat Conroy is a sociopath and can't help telling lies because he has no moral compass and therefore makes every decision based on how it will gain him advantage.

This book should embarrass him, his family, and anyone who calls Pat Conroy their friend. Men like this best serve society by existing in total isolation where they can do minimal harm. For the first time in my life I now understand the term "Toxic Masculinity" and it makes me ill.

If you think this analysis too harsh, take a look at the results of his life - multiple divorces, multiple infidelities, suicidal children, multiple broken families and generations of depression. The one apparent success of Pat Conroy is his legacy of shame, grief, and sadness.

[Sadaf Trimarchi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many years ago, I was introduced to Pat Conroy’s writing by a close childhood friend of my husband’s. Don’t ask me why or how I choose which recommendations to follow, but in this case, my reading destiny was happily altered for the better.

“Read Conroy. You’ll love him,” JG said.

Little did I know that introducing Pat Conroy’s writing seemed to be a minor mission in his life. But because this friend also happens to be an amazing writer himself, and ridiculously funny, I trusted him.

Fast forward, every year I look forward to JG’s annual list of best books (which to my knowledge he publishes exclusively on social media only- a terrible shame). I may have nudged him a little in January and was finally rewarded with his list for 2019 - which included “My Exaggerated Life.”

I added it to my queue without hesitation and I devoured it.

“We went through my whole childhood, my whole life, and there were legitimate reasons I had problems,problems that were going to pursue me my whole life. Because you cannot make up for that ruined childhood. You can never quite correct that. You can learn to love with it, you can explain it, but there is no cure for that. Childhood is a matrix of immense power,and it works on you in ways you cannot control. “

There’s a soft spot in my heart for writers who survive emotionally explosive childhoods and appear to defy the odds. I’ve often wondered how success stories like Pat Conroy or more recent literary phenoms like Tara Westwood, possessed the resilience to not only survive physical and emotional abuse - but capitalize on their experience and create riveting literature?

This book is unlike most biographies I’ve read because it’s a collection of Conroy’s oral history as told to the writer, Katherine Clark. To her credit, she doesn’t dilute his voice at all. And what a story teller he is. What a life lived writ large. I cheered him all over again in recounting “the Water is Wide,” and wanted to smack down his father in “The Great Santini.” I did not realize how emotionally abusive his own family was to him though and wanted to shake his mother for not cheering him on after his literary successes. It killed me to see his self doubt spelled out as painfully as he described, and those descriptions - affable, self deprecating, boisterous. What a testament to his will to live and write and tell a good tale his life became.

[Michael Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Writer Katherine Clark recorded hundreds of hours of interviews ith the late great Pat Conroy for this book. Much more than a mere memoir, My Exagerted life finds Conroy digging deep to separate the “faction” of his novels from the unfiltered truth. It’s truly a “page turner.” While I had three books ahead of it ready to read, I read the first few pages and was hooked like a sea bass off of Fripp Island.
Conroy comes clean about his family dynamic growing up and his abusive military father and often overbearing mother. He shares the details on each of his marriages, including his second, one he called “the biggest mistake of my life.”
Reading about all Pat went through, it’s very hard to imagine how he managed to pen so many amazing novels while hunkered down in what seemed at times like a war zone. But he did. The Great Santini pissed off a lot of people, including his family, but it launched him into the stratosphere. Then he just took off like a seagull, with The Prince of Tides, Beach Music and all the others.
This book is as close to actually sitting down and speaking with Conroy as most will ever get, especially now that he is gone. When Conroy passed on March 4, 2016, the world not only lost one of its greatest writers, but it also lost a man with a huge heart and a great sense of humor. There’s a big hole in the literary world now that only Conroy could fill. This book stands as a wonderful memorial to the man, the myth, the legend that was Pay Conroy.

- Michael Buffalo Smith, kudzoomag.com

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this. I miss Pat Conroy. Miss him not writing anything more and just not being in the world, even though I didn't know him personally. But when you read someone's writing, you feel like you get to know them.
This book is amazing. Transcripts of his phone conversations. It's just like reading one of his books. He speaks as eloquently as he writes.
I heard him speak during his Beach Music tour, so I know what a funny storyteller he was. I laughed out loud many times reading this book.
I also saw him in passing at the Fripp Island marina and he smiled very nicely and said hello. We were in a kayak and he was walking down the dock, but he was unmistakable. Even from a distance, you could tell his eyes were sparkling. Not many famous authors would say hello like that. He seemed like a truly good person. A champion of the underdog.
I have read all of his books, except for The Losing Season, which I plan to read soon. The Prince of Tides is on my list of favorite books of all time. He was a genius. He gave so many people joy and a voice through his great understanding of struggle and suffering.
Thank you for this book so we can continue to hear from him. I was sad to have it come to an end.
I wish I could have had a nice Italian dinner with him.
RIP Pat Conroy
P.S. I loved the tiger.

[Jocelyn Condenzio-Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ignited a spark in me...

As a reader, I have come to love Pat Conroy for his seemingly fearless and lush prose and unsparing insight into the human condition, especially his own. I have long wanted to write but, as with many others, life gets in the way and, well, ya gotta eat. However, I’m turning fifty-six this year and my shelf life date is approaching, whether fast or slowly only God knows. This book, in Pat Conroy’s painfully honest and uncompromising voice, telling of his fears and joys and struggles, has given me the slap in the face I’ve needed to finally begin my own journey as a writer. It has sparked in me a desire to take the plunge and find my voice. Thank you, Mr. Conroy, for paving the way...

[~mad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in 2 days probably. I am a fan of Pat Conroy and this is nothing like the prose of his lovely collection of book since THE WATER IS WIDE in the '70's.

It is an oral history taken from lengthy timely interviews by Katherine Clark who was chosen by Pat Conroy to write his oral history - that is how much he believed in her!

Parts of this oral history is difficult but explains so much of the many characters and their difficulties presented in his multiple books.

He's a boisterous, outspoken, complicated man - and a great writer. Well-loved and greatly thought of.

I highly recommend!

[Hank Pharis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pat Conroy is my favorite contemporary novelist and most of his books have had autobiographical elements. He knew he was never going to get around to writing and autobiography and sensed that his health was declining so he had an author friend interview him for weeks. Almost everything in his is his own words and it I thoroughly enjoyed it. There are tons of great and funny stories.

(Note: I'm stingy with stars. For me 2 stars means a good book or a B. 3 = Very good or a B+; 4 = Outstanding or an A {only about 5% of the books I read merit this}; 5 = All time favorites or an A+ {one of these may come along every 400-500 books})

[Karli Eller · Rating 4 out of 5]

An oral biography that Katherine Clark put together after hours and hours of talking to and interviewing Pat Conroy over the phone. I found it interesting because I am interested in all things Pat Conroy. There were stories and tidbits I had not heard before about what he went through when writing some of his books as well as his personal life. The bar was set pretty low for this since I like the subject matter so much, but even still it held me attention easily all the way through. She did an impressive job putting it together into a book that flowed well when it was all of his stories and anecdotes told to her over the course of a year.

[Nora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been a fan of Pat Conroy's writing for many years, starting with Water Is Wide, and reading every title I could find. Prince of Tides. The Great Santini. Beach Music. I was excited when I saw this "autobiography". It was very interesting. Initially, I was a bit surprised by his speaking voice, foul language, and brutal honesty. I knew most of his novels had elements of his own life, and his revelations about himself made it clear how much he relied on actual life events for his inspiration. If one isn't familar with Conroy's books, I'd say the autobiography would have less appeal.

[Monte Dutton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Conroy was (mostly) a South Carolinian, as am I. He went to The Citadel. My dislike of his alma mater was fueled by The Lords of DIscipline. I started reading Conroy when I was in high school. I've written eight novels. I lack his proficiency and success.
But I wish I'd met him. I could have. The oral biography is the next best thing, and in Conroy's description of his life, I found common ground. It may not be a 5-star to others who may not relate to it as deeply, but it provides as much insight into the writer as it does this one in particular.

[Richard Jespers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t usually care for “as told to” books, but this one is too intriguing to pass up. Clark spends a number of years communicating with author Pat Conroy either by direct interviews or by way of written communications. He declares early on that his spoken language is much different from the prose he uses in his fiction. And his fiction (for those who don’t know Conroy)? The Great Santini. The Lords of Discipline. Beach Music, to name only a few.

Each book that Conroy writes is his way of transforming the mess that is his autobiographical material. The Great Santini is essentially about his bully of an abusive father who cows Conroy’s mother and all his siblings. The Lords of Discipline is about his four years as a miserable cadet at the Citadel, in South Carolina. But his writing is also about his three marriages. His parents. His children. He writes, by the way, The Water Is Wide, the novel about a young man who teaches on an island with an all-Black classroom of children—made into a successful movie, Conrack, starring Jon Voight. In fact, Conroy makes a great deal of his income from selling the film rights to his works and getting a successful result—a rarity among novelists.

I am much more encouraged to read Conroy’s oeuvre, in part, because I can now sense how difficult it is for him to arrive at each finished product. He is one of those persons who must fight for every minute of happiness, every inch of success, and Clark’s book relates his story plainly and with great sensitivity.

[Wendell Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pat Conroy lives again! I had the great good fortune to meet my favorite author at the Savannah Book Festival several years ago and I will never forget that moment when I shook the hand of my idol. Thank you Katherine Clark for your wonderful contribution to preserving his memory. I laughed and cried throughout as I learned more and more details of how he became one of our greatest Southern literature creators. Did not want this book to ever end!

[Cheryl Smithem · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this so much more than I even anticipated. Conroy's tell telling his own story conveys both the pathos and the joys of his accomplishments even while convincing us that there were moments he believed he was not capable of all of the good things that he accomplished. He talked openly about his therapy and the repairs that he felt he had to make on his psyche. This was a vulnerable story of a man who was broken in many ways in many circumstances but triumphed in great ways.