Jon Du Pre is a reporter for Fox News Channel. He used to work at KTVX, the ABC affiliate in Salt Lake. This is his powerful, wrenching autobiography. It also tells the story of his father: an FBI agent, an assistant to U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond, and a civil rights attorney who gradually self-destructed through alcohol, drugs and other misbehavior, abandoned Du Pre's family and became a homeless wanderer. This is not just another Oprah-book. It is unsentimental: every insight and emotion is dearly earned.

The tale of his family's downward spiral is excruciating to read (and must have been hell to live through of course.) They sink into poverty, his brothers become emotionally damaged, and his mother makes two more catastrophic marriages. His father makes occasional reappearances in the teen-aged Du Pre's life in order to manipulate and leech off him. Du Pre finally joins the LDS church, goes on a mission to Italy, and attends BYU, where he marries Miss Utah and becomes a broadcast journalist (studying under the legendary Lynn Packer). His outward success masks a disturbed, pain-wracked heart however, and Du Pre finally makes the decision to investigate his father's past and ultimately to find and confront him.

One of the most interesting things about this memoir is that Du Pre doesn't come off as very likable in the middle chapters; he presents himself as self-absorbed and harsh with the people around him. His final confrontation with his father is heartbreaking and unforgettable. Some grace and forgiveness occur, but there's nothing cheap or New Age-y about it. The moral of the story: in order to become a complete human being, you have to confront your fears and face down your demons.

This book is very readable, but not exactly artful. Du Pre spills his guts and the result is often more forceful than smooth. His Mormonness plays a crucial part in the story. As a young convert, his LDS friends allow him to see a more hopeful world beyond the horizon of his despair. BYU makes him into a professional. And although he doesn't parade it, his values inform the choices he makes. For example, when Du Pre is 18 or so, his father comes to live with him and tries to "get him drunk and get him laid." Du Pre resists these temptations. There is a palpable feeling of evil that hangs over these pages, as the elder Du Pre attempts to drag Jon down to his level. No doubt more worldly readers will just conclude that the younger Du Pre is a prude, but LDS readers will understand.

This book has reminded some reader's of Angela's Ashes. My own comparisons would be with Mikal Gilmore's masterful Shot in the Heart, William Kennedy's great novel Ironweed, and Geoffrey Wolff's memoir The Duke of Deception. It's not as well written as those books, but it has a scalding candor and honesty that produces an impact similar to those classics.

R.W. Rasband
Heber City, UT
rrasband@yahoo.com