Jesus, My Father, The CIA, and Me by Ian Morgan Cron

I always enjoy reading biographies and learning about the lives of others. It is great to get a look under e hood to see how people tick. I love biographies written by third party individuals because you get to know how others saw the individual. Content also can come from personal and family journals to bring the experiences as close to reality. In contrast to someone else telling the story is the autobiography or memoirs of sorts. These can be increasingly insightful as we really get to dive deep into someone’s life and experiences. These can be a great insight to what molded an individual.

Ian Cron writes a great story and gives us insight into his life with benevolent honesty. He seems to hold nothing back. He wants us to really experience his life and experiences and find ourselves in his shoes.

Ian shares his memoirs of growing up a Catholic in the 60s and 70s with a father who was a drunk, former CIA member and in and out of careers. He shares his experiences going through these things and seeking out God in the process. His memoirs gave me a great way to reflect on growing up through my formative years. I could picture myself running through the woods, hiding out, using fire to impress the “cool kids” and survive high school while striving to please everyone else.

An excellent story of overcoming failure, alcoholism and lacking self-esteem to rise up like a Phoenix from the ashes. We have all grown up with issues of one kind or another. These may have shaken faith, caused us to neglect God, fallen off the beaten path or struggled making friends or feeling loved. We can overcome these things. Ian isn’t perfect, but amidst his neglecting father he has crossed paths with individuals that have impacted his life. These individuals gave him something to live for. Showed him that he was loved and that God had been there the entire time.

I was impressed with his stories and experiences. This book was impactful to me in reminding me of my youth and seeing life changing events that we all have. I would recommend Ian’s book as a good quick read. Grab it here.