"I had donned a suit of clothing that on most days felt constrictive, a skin to be molted and replaced by a new one ... It would happen gradually, not at once as it might elsewhere in the animal kingdom." A little boy with hair the color red-his scarlet letter-and family secrets to be disclosed only decades later. A man late in life confronted with looming mortality. These are the bookends of My Father's Shadow, a narrative nonfiction collection of timely stories with universal themes that are heartwarming, painful, distressing, humorous. This memoir examines how one person has managed to thrive in a world replete with wild imperfections and an eclectic array of people and relationships, some nurturing, others much less so. My Father's Shadow delves deep into the pain and joy of life itself.