Return of the Lost Son: Memories of My Wayward Father

By Christopher Gonzales

A son searches for his father, only to grow uncomfortable--and even miserable--with what he exhumes. Where, he asks, are the limits of forgiveness? Is failure a badge of honor? Are we free to share the secrets of the dead? In Return of the Lost Son, a vivid, tightly paced memoir, Christopher Gonzales attempts to understand a man who, due to early-onset Alzheimer's, was unable to share his own memories.

At the outset of his exploration, Gonzales hopes to discover a benevolent father figure, someone he could imagine guiding him through the difficult terrain of life. Instead, he is met with shadowy fragments of his father's habits--drinking, womanizing, and aloofness--as well as a hidden marriage, which all force Gonzales to acknowledge that he might never uncover the angel he hoped to find. Constructed with clear-eyed prose and abounding with colorful travel stories, wending inner journeys, and psychological intricacies, Return of the Lost Son emerges from a committed project of asking and listening, recovering memory and community, and ultimately, healing.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0807184691
• ISBN13: 9780807184691
• Release Date: August 2025
• Publisher: LSU Press
• Length: 152 Pages
• Weight: 0.41 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.5" x 8.5"