Christian Living
![David Magee - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B00JO2CJHC.jpg)
Dear William: A Father's Memoir of Addiction, Recovery, Love, and Loss
Publishers Weekly Bestseller
Newsweek Fall Must-Read Book
Books-a-Million "Must-Read This Fall" Selection
"Shot through with hope, purpose and an unflinching love, it's a story that must be read."
-Newsweek
Award-winning columnist and author David Magee addresses his poignant story to all those who will benefit from better understanding substance misuse so that his hard-earned wisdom can save others from the fate of his late son, William.
The last time David Magee saw his son alive, William told him to write their family's story in the hopes of helping others. Days later, David found William dead from an accidental drug overdose.
Now, in a memoir suggestive of Augusten Burroughs meets Glennon Doyle, award-winning columnist and author David Magee answers his son's wish with a compelling, heartbreaking, and impossible to put down book that speaks to every individual and family.
With honesty and heart, Magee shares his family's intergenerational struggle with substance abuse and mental health issues, as well as his own reckoning with family secrets-confronting the dark truth about the adoptive parents who raised him and a decades-long search for identity. He wrestles with personal substance misuse that began at a young age and, as a father, he sees destructive patterns repeat and develop within his own children. While striving to find a truly authentic voice as a writer despite authoring nearly a dozen previous books, Magee ultimately understands that William had been right and their own family's history is the story he needs to tell.
A poignant and uplifting message of hope translates unimaginable tragedy into an inspirational commitment to saving others, as David founded the William Magee Institute for Student Wellbeing at the University of Mississippi. His mission to share solutions to self-medication and addiction, particularly as it touches America's high school and college students, emphasizes that William's story is about much more than a tragic addiction-it's an American story of a family broken by loss and remade with love.
Dear William inspires readers to find purpose, build resilience, and break the cycles that damage too many individuals and the people who love them. It's a life-changing book revealing how voids can be filled, and peace-even profound, lasting happiness-is possible.
Newsweek Fall Must-Read Book
Books-a-Million "Must-Read This Fall" Selection
"Shot through with hope, purpose and an unflinching love, it's a story that must be read."
-Newsweek
Award-winning columnist and author David Magee addresses his poignant story to all those who will benefit from better understanding substance misuse so that his hard-earned wisdom can save others from the fate of his late son, William.
The last time David Magee saw his son alive, William told him to write their family's story in the hopes of helping others. Days later, David found William dead from an accidental drug overdose.
Now, in a memoir suggestive of Augusten Burroughs meets Glennon Doyle, award-winning columnist and author David Magee answers his son's wish with a compelling, heartbreaking, and impossible to put down book that speaks to every individual and family.
With honesty and heart, Magee shares his family's intergenerational struggle with substance abuse and mental health issues, as well as his own reckoning with family secrets-confronting the dark truth about the adoptive parents who raised him and a decades-long search for identity. He wrestles with personal substance misuse that began at a young age and, as a father, he sees destructive patterns repeat and develop within his own children. While striving to find a truly authentic voice as a writer despite authoring nearly a dozen previous books, Magee ultimately understands that William had been right and their own family's history is the story he needs to tell.
A poignant and uplifting message of hope translates unimaginable tragedy into an inspirational commitment to saving others, as David founded the William Magee Institute for Student Wellbeing at the University of Mississippi. His mission to share solutions to self-medication and addiction, particularly as it touches America's high school and college students, emphasizes that William's story is about much more than a tragic addiction-it's an American story of a family broken by loss and remade with love.
Dear William inspires readers to find purpose, build resilience, and break the cycles that damage too many individuals and the people who love them. It's a life-changing book revealing how voids can be filled, and peace-even profound, lasting happiness-is possible.
Editorial Reviews
"This intensely felt and beautifully delivered memoir written by former Newsweek editor and award-winning writer Magee sheds light on what so many of us have been affected by and what so few of us can discuss with any comparable measure of grace. Shot through with hope, purpose and an unflinching love, it's a story that must be read."
-Newsweek
"This is the most painful, beautiful book I've ever read. It is full of love, regret and sorrow. Read it if you've lost a child, or are worried about losing a child or if you just want an intimate portrait of just how much a human being can absorb and keep on moving towards the light of tomorrow. I didn't want to start this book and by the end I didn't want to stop."
-Wright Thompson, New York Times bestselling author of Pappyland and The Cost of These Dreams
"It's been decades since I've read a literary offering like Dear William. Through inventive storytelling and heart bursting revelations, David Magee welcomes us into the making and near breaking of an American family. Tone is one of the hardest narrative tools to responsibly wield. The tone here is breathtakingly brilliant, carrying us into unexpected depths of despair and concentrated layers of joy. Walk with this book, consider new beginnings and ends of loss, and be forever changed."
-Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy and Carnegie Medal winner
"David Magee passionately brings to life a story of joy and devastation–one that invites the reader into a world of boundless love and sacrifice. I feel so lucky to bear witness to this vital recollection. This powerful and revelatory memoir plants seeds for a future in which his son's legacy becomes synonymous with the word love."
–Aimee Nezhukumatathil, NYT bestselling author of World of Wonders
"Dear William is a staggering and generous gift. Here, David Magee documents and illuminates an epic American family saga. In the writing, he translates pain into revelation, loss into propulsion, tortured despair into buoyant hope."
-John T Edge, author The Potlikker Papers and host of True South
"Dear William educated me as a parent, dazzled me as a writer, and moved me as a human. This book is a big, soulful account, told with fearless honesty and insight. David Magee's ardent-hearted journey will inspire all."
-Tom Franklin, New York Times bestselling author of Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
"Dear William is big and bold. It is heartbreaking and unflinching, a story of loss and grief and pain that knocks us to the floor yet lifts us back up to somehow face the world. A remarkable story."
-Joh...
-Newsweek
"This is the most painful, beautiful book I've ever read. It is full of love, regret and sorrow. Read it if you've lost a child, or are worried about losing a child or if you just want an intimate portrait of just how much a human being can absorb and keep on moving towards the light of tomorrow. I didn't want to start this book and by the end I didn't want to stop."
-Wright Thompson, New York Times bestselling author of Pappyland and The Cost of These Dreams
"It's been decades since I've read a literary offering like Dear William. Through inventive storytelling and heart bursting revelations, David Magee welcomes us into the making and near breaking of an American family. Tone is one of the hardest narrative tools to responsibly wield. The tone here is breathtakingly brilliant, carrying us into unexpected depths of despair and concentrated layers of joy. Walk with this book, consider new beginnings and ends of loss, and be forever changed."
-Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy and Carnegie Medal winner
"David Magee passionately brings to life a story of joy and devastation–one that invites the reader into a world of boundless love and sacrifice. I feel so lucky to bear witness to this vital recollection. This powerful and revelatory memoir plants seeds for a future in which his son's legacy becomes synonymous with the word love."
–Aimee Nezhukumatathil, NYT bestselling author of World of Wonders
"Dear William is a staggering and generous gift. Here, David Magee documents and illuminates an epic American family saga. In the writing, he translates pain into revelation, loss into propulsion, tortured despair into buoyant hope."
-John T Edge, author The Potlikker Papers and host of True South
"Dear William educated me as a parent, dazzled me as a writer, and moved me as a human. This book is a big, soulful account, told with fearless honesty and insight. David Magee's ardent-hearted journey will inspire all."
-Tom Franklin, New York Times bestselling author of Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
"Dear William is big and bold. It is heartbreaking and unflinching, a story of loss and grief and pain that knocks us to the floor yet lifts us back up to somehow face the world. A remarkable story."
-Joh...
Readers Top Reviews
Reeca Elliott
Let me do a…kind of disclaimer. I have met David Magee…he probably does not even remember it. We met at Ole Miss. My husband and David were in the same pledge class at Sigma Nu and I was a Sigma Nu Little Sister…back in the day….way back in the day. But, when I heard about this book, I knew I had to read it. Let me say, my 5 star rating has nothing to do with our previous interactions. This book is outstanding on so many levels! David Magee has had his share of troubles growing up. He comes clean in this memoir about his mistakes, his own alcohol use, and his family dynamics. Life tends to throw us curve balls. How we react to these curve balls is what it is all about. It took David a while to come to terms with everything which occurred in his life. But, it has made him stronger and wiser. And this comes out strong in this memoir. This is a book everyone should read. It will open eyes and possibly help others in this situation. This book is expressive and must have been cathartic to write. Nothing can ever ease the pain of losing a child and you can feel the author’s pain and guilt all through this memoir. But, you can also feel purpose. The purpose to help someone else through his loss. What an outstanding man William was. He had such a bright future. But life turned on its axis. Hopefully this tragedy will help someone else in trouble. If you know anyone which needs help and guidance, please reach out: Magee Center at Ole Miss Need a life changing story you will not soon forget…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.
