LET'S NEVER TALK ABOUT THIS AGAIN

A daughter discovers her puritanical father’s dark secret hobby.

Though her suburban Boston childhood was comfortable, Alterman was raised by two “straitlaced squares,” most notably her quirky father, Ira, who was “allergic to difficult conversation.” In a childhood “act of quiet mutiny,” Alterman snooped through the volumes cloistered high up in the family den’s bookshelves. She was shocked to discover a trove of pornographic books all authored by her father. Keeping this discovery secret, she spent her early teen years fumbling with awkward advances from boys before experiencing her first romance and sexual experience with Ace. After Ira was laid off in his 60s, he began penning a blog with his daughter’s help, until the articles morphed into a revival of the provocative material of his past, along with accompanying graphic pictorials—including one “called ‘The Sex Missionary,’ which showed a balding man, in monk’s clothing, tossing handfuls of condoms into the sky.” Ira also announced his work on a new book for the virginal honeymooner, “so virgins understand how to please their men. It’ll be great for bachelorette parties.” Alterman admits to being shocked and repulsed yet unsurprised at the material in a strangely sentimental way. However, she wasn’t prepared for the devastation brought about by Ira’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, which led to the author’s having to navigate his well-being from afar as he continued to decline. Alterman leavens some heavily emotional subject matter with a razor-sharp sense of humor that will help readers smile through the more painful passages. A distinctive knack for witty descriptions will also resonate—e.g., a teacher who spoke with “a thick slab of Massachusetts accent,” and Ira, the “cheddar sharp cheeseball who couldn’t resist a pun.” Readers providing care for an elderly parent will find this memoir particularly appealing.

A vividly written, compassionate homage to a beloved and eccentric parent.