Superdad:: A Memoir of Rebellion, Drugs and Fatherhood

by Christopher Shulgan

Chris Shulgan seemed like an average young urban a house in Toronto’s hip Queen West neighbourhood, a loving marriage, afternoons at the park with his infant son. But this enviable life concealed a shocking nights of hard drinking that would push him, inevitably, to the city’s underbelly, where he bought and smoked crack. At first Shulgan managed to justify his the occasional drug binge allowed him to blow off steam, ultimately making him a better, more attentive father. Until the night he found himself poised to choose drugs over his child’s safety, and the carefully constructed fa?ade began to crumble. Woven through Shulgan’s powerful, darkly funny account of his domestic days and restless nights is an exploration of his own misguided ideas of fatherhood. At the heart of Superdad, however, is the deeply personal story of a man finally throwing a light on the darkest corners of his life. Advance praise for Superdad : “Infuriating, moving, and terrifying, Superdad is a journey into the dark heart of self-destructive hypermasculinty and out the other side into a? kind of uneasy truce between the idea of ‘father’ and ‘real man.’ As a writer, I found myself awed by Shulgan’s tale-teller’s facility; as a dad, I found myself wanting to smack him until he stopped destroying his family and his life. Superdad is a brave memoir that humanizes the self-immolating urge of the crack addict.”?Cory Doctorow, author of For the Win and co-editor of Boing Boing “Christopher Shulgan pulls off a cool sort of alchemy; Superdad is an illuminating book about delusion, a wise book about idiocy, a kind-hearted book about acting like a jerk. And then on top of all that, the man makes writing look easy.”?Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall, author of Down to This and Ghosted “Take the assumptions you have about fatherhood and addiction, and the kind of simpering memoirs such issues cook up, and, please, fly the works off the nearest dock. Superdad is a relief. At once hilarious and heartbreaking, Shulgan’s writing makes room for something else. Something greater. Trust me, you’ve been looking for this one.”?Ryan Knighton, author of Cockeyed and C’mon Papa

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction

304 pages, Hardcover

First published October 14, 2010

Reviews

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This memoir maddened me, frustrated me and moved me. In the beginning, Chris Shulgan is a reluctant and terrified father who results to drinking too much and smoking crack fairly often. I was angry at him, and wanted him to "suck it up" and "man up." It was hard to me to relate to some of the elements in this book.

I found myself to be very irritated with him. However, he does do a good job of trying to convey how he is feeling and what he is going through. Perhaps he should have gone to therapy instead of doing drugs?

There were passages where he grew up and explored some of what it means to be masculine and what it means to be a father, and he definitely grew and matured by the end of the book.

Some of his observations on fatherhood were brilliant and his discussion of how his ideas about masculinity were shaped by Harrison Ford and 1980s movies was PRICELESS.

Shulgan should also be praised for his honesty in this book.

[Debby Gwyllt-smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked many parts of the book but found it overly wordy. It was as though the author wanted to prove his knowledge of the dictionary. I got so tired and bored with his overly descriptive paragraphs that I just started flipping through the pages. He wrote like he is incredibly arrogant. Wished he was a more humbled writer.

[Marilyn Sue Michel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing is good, but a bit repetitive, as stories about addiction tend to be. Shulgan eventually gets on the wagon, but it is torture getting there.

[Chris Fenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is truly a great book. There is a dearth of accessible books that treat the subject of fatherhood, written by fathers. Outside of the subject of addiction, this one treats the difficult emotional transition of new fathers in an honest and authentic way. The book does somehow treat his deepening addiction is a way that is real, yet witty and self-critical. No melodrama here, probably because for the most part he was able to avoid a true "rock bottom". It is written in a casual and conversational style, much like Chuck Klosterman. a strong recommend.

[Violet · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book - and, on some levels, I did. I appreciated the author's candor in discussing his drug and alcohol use. I liked his descriptions of his son, and his wife, and their impact on his behaviours.

But it all felt flat. Perhaps part of this comes from working with addicts and hearing some of their stories - I do not find drug use, in general, to be scandalous or interesting. I wanted the story behind it; I wanted more, I suppose, than the author could give me.

[Artslyz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This memoir was passably good. Some parts, like the section on masculinity/80s movies were very good. Others were frustrating, where Shulgan does something without enough description as to his motivation (other than his desire for crack?).

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

At times, cringe-worthy, but written in a way to evoke empathy rather than disgust for a man who makes some rather poor choices in favour of his drug and alcohol addiction in the first year of his son's life.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really strong bio about masculinity, fatherhood, marriage, addiction and identity. Funny, heartbreaking and a must read