Jesus, My Father, The CIA, and Me

A Memoir. . . of Sorts

By: Ian Morgan Cron

Narrated by: Ian Cron

A touching memoir of life with an alcoholic father who secretly works with the CIA, a dark pilgrimage through the valley of depression and addiction, and finding a faith to redeem and a strength to forgive.

"This is a record of my life as I remember it—but more importantly, as I felt it."

At the age of sixteen, Ian Morgan Cron was told by his mother that his father, a motion picture executive, worked with the CIA in Europe. This astonishing revelation, coupled with his father's dark struggle with alcoholism, upended the world of a teenager struggling to become a man.

Born into a family of privilege and power, Ian's life is populated with colorful people and stories as his father takes the family on a wild roller-coaster ride through wealth and poverty and back again.

Decades later, as he faced his own personal demons, Ian realized that the only way to find peace was to voyage back through a painful childhood marked by extremes—privilege and poverty, violence and tenderness, truth and deceit—that he’d spent years trying to escape.

• A fast-paced, unique memoir about the power of forgiveness from the bestselling author of The Road Back to You
• Details his father’s struggle with alcohol and Cron’s own journey from addiction to twenty-three years of sobriety
• Encouragement to see God’s redemptive power through life’s struggles

In this surprisingly funny and forgiving memoir, Ian reminds us that no matter how different the pieces may be, in the end we are all cut from the same cloth, stitched by faith into an exquisite quilt of grace.

Satisfying Story

Interesting story about the childhood of a favorite author. The story is full of intriguing contrasts and is a joy to listen to.

A powerful story by a master storyteller

Ian Cron tells vignettes from his life with vivid imagery and powerful language. I was drawn into not only his story but also my own as he described moments of intense shame, terrible fear, and wonderous courage. While the details are specific to him, Cron tells a story that is so human it transcends itself. Just like his book Chasing Francis, this story will stay with me for years to come. I'm so glad I listened to the audiobook because hearing Cron's inflection gave the story additional life and meaning.