Book cover of My Father And Myself

Book description

NYRB CLASSICS: An adult son and acclaimed author offers a heartfelt gay memoir about uncovering his late father's secrets.

“A cross between Dickens's David Copperfield, Rousseau's Confessions, and the new pornography.” —Donald Windham, novelist and memoirist
 
When his father died, J. R. Ackerley was shocked to discover that he had…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked My Father And Myself as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This extraordinarily candid memoir is about the complex relationship between the author and his businessman father, both of whom had a secret life.

A self-confessed gay man, young Joe spent much of his life searching for his Ideal Friend in the twilight of homosexual London, but never admitted as much to his father. And only after the latter’s death did his son discover that for many years he had maintained a mistress and their three daughters in a house in Barnes.

The author unravels this complicated tale with impressive honesty and compassion, charting his own feelings of inadequacy, waste, and…

If you love My Father And Myself...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Want books like My Father And Myself?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like My Father And Myself.

Browse books like My Father And Myself

Book cover of And When Did You Last See Your Father?
Book cover of Michael Redgrave, My Father
Book cover of Gerald: A Portrait

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,340

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like My Father And Myself, you might also like...

Book cover of Foxfire in the Snow

Foxfire in the Snow by J.S. Fields,

It's a time of change, between magic and alchemy.

Born the heir of a master woodcutter in a queendom defined by guilds and matrilineal inheritance, nonbinary Sorin can’t quite seem to find their place. At seventeen, an opportunity to attend an alchemical guild fair and secure an apprenticeship with the…

Book cover of The Main Gate

The Main Gate by Yvonne Kjorlien,

Dr. Elise Marquette has spent years burying the past—until the past refuses to stay buried.

Hired to join Earth’s first interstellar contact team, she hopes the vastness of space will finally offer distance from the ghosts of war and the wounds left by a mother who never let her be…

5 book lists we think you will like!