Return of the Lost Son: Memories of My Wayward Father

A son searches for his father, only to grow uncomfortable—and even miserable—with what he exhumes. Where, he asks, are the limits of forgiveness? Is failure a badge of honor? Are we free to share the secrets of the dead? In Return of the Lost Son, a vivid, tightly paced memoir, Christopher Gonzales attempts to understand a man who, due to early-onset Alzheimer’s, was unable to share his own memories.

At the outset of his exploration, Gonzales hopes to discover a benevolent father figure, som...