Dear Dad: Letters from an Adult Child Paperback – March 1, 1991

A lot of comics, when they write books, essentially just put their standup routine into printed paragraphs and call it a book. I love Louie Anderson and I have for a long time. I remember watching his comedy special on HBO in 1987 when I was a child. I thought he was so cute and charming and funny. I was expecting that this book would be one of those printed stand-up routines and didn’t mind. I was just looking for something to read on the train.This book is not that. This book is very powerful. It’s real and it’s raw and I was very very impressed that somebody so sweet and so sensitive would be vulnerable enough to put this kind of pain and processing down on paper. I suppose anyone who grew up a fat kid, or was a child of an alcoholic.. or in a dysfunctional family.. or in an extremely large family would find a lot of their own secrets down on paper.This book created a lot of moments of self reflection in a really great way. Thank you Louie.

Very effective and funny, in an extremely sad way. You will not bust a gut here: This book is written by someone who's being very brave and honest. My beef with most memoirs is that they wallow in recounting squalor and abuse. This book, being epistolary, can be episodic without the author seeming to tick off a laundry list of wrongs that ends up as nothing more than "trauma porn." Instead, it's a sweet, insightful look at what addiction can do to a family. Anderson doesn't shy away from taking a hard look at himself, too. "Dear Dad" is a worthwhile read, and an especially good one for anyone who had a difficult upbringing. It speaks more to empathy than bitterness, and that is refreshing.

This book is really thoughtful and funny, Louie Anderson goes through a journey in these pages that is personal and relatable. I would highly recommend it

I've have the audio of this as well and love it. As an adult child of an alcoholic myself it hit home and really helped me to process things. I'm also a drug and alcohol counselor and I've used it in my counseling to help others w understanding the home they grew up in. So for me this book & audio is fantastic as well as a great read, it's very very entertaining and great info love love this book!!!

Louis Anderson displayed a nature that is rarely seen in modern memoirs.This book is as candid as you can be about an abusive life, while able to chime in bits of comedic levity that help us find our way back above water.As someone who grew up with an emotionally distant parent, it was easy for me to see similarities between Anderson's broken home and the one I had as a child.This book, however, helped put much of my childhood in perspective and made me feel that I wasn't alone in my issues and feelings as well.I would recommend this book to anyone, regardless of family status. This book's message is meant for everyone.

Good to read more about Louie

This is the second book by Louie Anderson that I've read and it gives us so much insight about him growing up in his family. He has a writing style that you can see comes from his heart and by sharing his memories opens up discussions for other families who may relate to similar experiences. By the way, he was wonderful as Christine on the series Baskets and it was sad to see that series end.

I've been a fan of Louie Anderson for years and have seen him live twice. However, I've never read any of his books except for Hey Mom. I decided to read Dear Dad and was blown away. Anderson is not only a terrific comedian but also a fantastic storyteller. I really loved this book.

I love Louie Anderson the book is fabulous

Louie died recently and I heard an interview where he talked about his dad and this book.Spoiler alert: Louie forgave him for being an abusive alcoholic who damaged his family.I was jealous. Jealous that Louie could experience that yet write about it and get catharsis in doing so.He was a decent cat who spent a life making strangers laugh. His pain fuelled that.Thanks, Louie.

Having just seen Louie Anderson on stage at our local Casino, I was very impressed at his excellent show. He has not lost his great talent over the years, and I was interested in his dialogue about his parents, particularly his dad - so when I saw this book "Dear Dad" at Amazon, I had to have it. What a book. My husband and I sat outside on a lovely afternoon and I started reading the book... only to find that after two pages, I started reading this aloud, so he could also enjoy it. This was a book that I couldn't put down, and after 2 hours of reading, it got too dark to read outside, and we moved into the house. I finished the book there, and I couldn't believe how this affected me - I even chocked up in some parts, and had to reach for a Kleenex... This was as if Louie Anderson was in the room with us and we could feel his pain. This is a book that will be read again and again, and one I can recommend for everyone.