In the Days of My Youth, I Was Told What It Means to Be a Man: A Memoir

In this excruciatingly candid debut, National Magazine Award–winning journalist Junod peels back the secrets of his swaggering father, Lou, who strove to shape the young Junod in his image. Lou began molding his son early, carrying him to the beach in Long Island for mornings of running, pushups, and swimming. He also dispensed constant advice about sex, how to dress, and how to maximize personal pleasure. As a teenager, Junod began uncovering evidence that Lou may have conducted xtramarital affairs under the cover of his sales work. Decades later, at Lou’s funeral, an encounter with a woman whom Junod had only met once spurred him to further investigate the flawed man who raised him. Through detailed detective work, including interviews with Lou’s family members, friends, and former lovers, Junod sketches a picture of a complicated, self-absorbed, and surprisingly sweet person, and rigorously unpacks the ways Lou’s charm and overbearing masculinity influenced the man and writer he became. Though the pacing sags a bit in the middle, this is a gripping study of a larger-than-life personality that doubles as a sensitive self-portrait. It’s a winner. Photos. Agent: David Black, David Black Literary. (Mar.)