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Priestdaddy: A Memoir

by Patricia Lockwood

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
8254723,564 (3.89)47
Father Greg Lockwood is unlike any Catholic priest you have ever met, a man who lounges in boxer shorts, loves action movies, and whose constant jamming on the guitar reverberates "like a whole band dying in a plane crash in 1972." His daughter is an irreverent poet who long ago left the Church's country. When an unexpected crisis leads her and her husband to move back into her parents' rectory, their two worlds collide. In Priestdaddy, Lockwood interweaves emblematic moments from her childhood and adolescence, from an ill-fated family hunting trip and an abortion clinic sit-in where her father was arrested to her involvement in a cultlike Catholic youth group, with scenes that chronicle the eight-month adventure she and her husband had in her parents' household after a decade of living on their own. Lockwood details her education of a seminarian who is also living at the rectory, tries to explain Catholicism to her husband, who is mystified by its bloodthirstiness and arcane laws, and encounters a mysterious substance on a hotel bed with her mother. Lockwood pivots from the raunchy to the sublime, from the comic to the deeply serious, exploring issues of belief, belonging, and personhood. Priestdaddy is an entertaining, unforgettable portrait of a deeply odd religious upbringing, and how one balances a hard-won identity with the weight of family and tradition.… (more)
  1. 00
    The World's Largest Man: A Memoir by Harrison Scott Key (RidgewayGirl)
    RidgewayGirl: The fathers in these two books are very similar, although Lockwood tempers her humor with a lot of honesty and introspection, while Key keeps things humorous (and more shallow).
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» See also 47 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 46 (next | show all)
There is beautiful writing in this book, and moving thoughts and words. I didn't find much humor in it. I know that the author needs to distance herself to survive; I know that people are complicated and multi-faceted. I felt I had to keep a distance as well. That's easier with an e-book I think. I don't know that I would recommend this book to anyone.
  franoscar | Feb 16, 2023 |
This was a pleasant read, a lyrical memoir suffused with poetic language. It probably would seem much funnier to readers who were raised Catholic. ( )
  JudyGibson | Jan 26, 2023 |
When a poet tackles nonfiction, the results aren’t necessarily guaranteed. Fortunately for Patricia Lockwood, not only does her poetic wordsmith skills come in handy, but the topic of her book, Priestdaddy, is authentically quirky, original and flat out hilarious. When she and her husband move in with her parents because of a medical emergency, her Catholic priest father and mother provide plenty of fodder to fill this book with hilarity and a sideway look at her childhood religion. If you’re wondering how a Catholic priest has a wife AND children, read this book, because like all things in her life, there’s a crazy story to explain it. Lots of chuckles in this one! ( )
  houghtonjr | Jan 1, 2022 |
I must say when I first started this I absolutely hated it. I didn't think it was funny that her priest father sat around in his underwear and it went downhill from there. Somewhere along the way, I got hooked and she stopped telling us about her father and his underwear. This is a true story and the scene at the abortion clinic is chilling, as is her encounter with rape and its subsequent poem, as is her portrait of the Midwest she inhabits. She is a published poet and it shows in her delight in language. If you give it a try, have some patience. It is not an easy book and humor is very difficult. Several people in my book club thought it was hilarious. Even for the parts I liked, I didn't really find much humor. Not to my taste anyway. What I did find was some wonderful language and haunting tales. ( )
  PattyLee | Dec 14, 2021 |
Starts brilliantly but loses its way towards the end. Suffers from a problem I have with many memoirs - that is, there's no unifying theme or story here. Lockwood has had the good fortune to have amazing characters as her family, and she's also an excellent writer, but for all the praise this left me disappointed. ( )
1 vote alexrichman | Nov 25, 2021 |
Showing 1-5 of 46 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (2 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Patricia Lockwoodprimary authorall editionscalculated
Willey, RachelCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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For my family
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"Before they allowed your father to be a priest," my mother tells me, "they made me take the Psychopath Test."
Quotations
I know all women are supposed to be strong enough now to strangle presidents and patriarchies between their powerful thighs, but it doesn't work that way. Many of us were actually affected, by male systems and male anger, in ways we cannot always articulate or overcome. Sometimes, when the ceiling seems especially low and the past especially close, I think to myself, I did not make it out. I am still there in that place of diminishment, where that voice an octave deeper than mine is telling me what I am.
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Father Greg Lockwood is unlike any Catholic priest you have ever met, a man who lounges in boxer shorts, loves action movies, and whose constant jamming on the guitar reverberates "like a whole band dying in a plane crash in 1972." His daughter is an irreverent poet who long ago left the Church's country. When an unexpected crisis leads her and her husband to move back into her parents' rectory, their two worlds collide. In Priestdaddy, Lockwood interweaves emblematic moments from her childhood and adolescence, from an ill-fated family hunting trip and an abortion clinic sit-in where her father was arrested to her involvement in a cultlike Catholic youth group, with scenes that chronicle the eight-month adventure she and her husband had in her parents' household after a decade of living on their own. Lockwood details her education of a seminarian who is also living at the rectory, tries to explain Catholicism to her husband, who is mystified by its bloodthirstiness and arcane laws, and encounters a mysterious substance on a hotel bed with her mother. Lockwood pivots from the raunchy to the sublime, from the comic to the deeply serious, exploring issues of belief, belonging, and personhood. Priestdaddy is an entertaining, unforgettable portrait of a deeply odd religious upbringing, and how one balances a hard-won identity with the weight of family and tradition.

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