Catholics and secrets

If you read a book jacket that described a memoir as follows, would you be inclined to read it??

In "Catholics and Secrets," a powerful memoir of family, faith and hidden truths, the author takes us on a journey through the fragmented landscape of his childhood in post-WWII America.

Growing up in a Catholic household shrouded in unspoken grief, he recounts how his father's wartime trauma and subsequent frustrations shaped a family environment where joy was suspect and emotions remained buried.

Following the classic hero's journey, the narrative begins with a shattering moment of childhood innocence lost, then traces the author's path through adolescence—moving houses, navigating social expectations, and discovering his own identity through running and rebellion. The memoir's revelation comes decades later when a DNA test uncovers a half-brother born from his father's affair—finally explaining the cloud of sadness that had hung over his childhood home.

At once a coming-of-age story and a meditation on how family secrets echo through generations, this memoir explores how the Catholic culture of confession and silence shaped not just a family but an entire generation of post-war American lives. With unflinching honesty and compassion, the author shows how making "the unconscious conscious" finally freed him from living a life dictated by fate.