murphyandhislaw

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The Pale-faced Lie

David Crow

published: 2019, read: 8/30/24
342 pages, genre: Biography
rating: 8/10, normalized: 7.778/10
0.677σ better than average
1.477σ or 0.983/10 better than average in Biography genre
Recommended by: Crow

After a 10 hour long conversation with a close friend, protracted over two road trips to and from a conference, spent fleshing out exactly how much we’re loath to be “the rich kid” and simultaneously how foolish it is of us to speak about pulling oneself up by his bootstraps – from the cushy positions we now enjoy thanks to the painstaking efforts of our loving parents, and theirs before them – this book hits like a brick wall.

The story of a highly highly dysfunctional family, struggling. And yet the inspiration of the Crow legacy is the fact that not only were all four children able to beat all the odds to enjoy happy, let alone incredibly successful lives – the author remarks how forgiving his parents for their negligence, abuse, and downright torture was among the best choices he made in life, no small feat five decades of real Crow living in. Not mere forgiveness, but caring for them in their old age, despite them holding onto their toxicities to their last breath.

David Crow is a fast friend, a loving mentor, a devious soul, and I’m grateful to know him.

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