It's a Shame About Ray is an extraordinary and powerful memoir about family, love and the power of music.
A young man coming to terms with bipolar disorder suddenly loses his father to suicide. This seismic event prompts an exploration of his family's suppressed history of ill mental health, primarily among men, from the rubble of post-war Europe to present-day Australia. Gliding between the narrator's boyhood, adulthood and impending fatherhood, It's a Shame About Ray lasers in on the family left behind and their response to this ongoing challenge in light of their culture, religion and community.
In the vein of Patricia Lockwood, Dave Eggers, Chuck Klosterman and David Sedaris, It's a Shame About Ray is an extraordinary memoir from writer Jonathan Seidler (yes, those Seidlers). It's an unflinching memoir about men, masculinity and mental health. Filtered through Y2K popular culture, it's a blackly funny and often devastating look at the lasting impact of suicide on families and the complex relationships between sons and fathers suffering from the same illness.