{"id":156657,"date":"2026-03-20T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=156657"},"modified":"2026-03-25T13:10:05","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T18:10:05","slug":"square-books-presents-tom-junod-for-in-the-days-of-my-youth-i-was-told-what-it-means-to-be-a-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/square-books-presents-tom-junod-for-in-the-days-of-my-youth-i-was-told-what-it-means-to-be-a-man\/","title":{"rendered":"Thursday, March 26: Thacker Mountain Radio and Square Books Present Tom Junod for “In the Days of My Youth I was Told What It Means to Be a Man”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Thursday, March 26 at 6pm @ The Powerhouse<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The evening’s event is part of the 32nd annual Oxford Conference for the Book, an annual gathering that brings together teachers, publishers, booksellers, writers, scholars, agents, editors, and booklovers. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the book <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Staggering. . . . With an astonishing subject and rare skill, Junod takes a question we all have to its outermost limit: Who are our parents, really?” – Booklist <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From two-time National Magazine Award winner Tom Junod<\/strong>, a searching, brilliantly stylized memoir about a charismatic, philandering father who tried to mold his son in his image, the many secrets he hid, the son\u2019s obsessive quest to uncover them, and ultimately, the true meaning of manhood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Big Lou Junod<\/strong> dominated every room he entered. He worshipped the sun and the sea, his own bronzed body, Frank Sinatra, and beautiful women. He was a successful traveling handbag salesman who carried himself like a celebrity. He\u2019d return from the road with stories of going to nightclubs where the stars\u2014Ava Gardner, maybe Liz Taylor\u2014 \u201ccouldn\u2019t keep their eyes off . . . your father.\u201d He had countless affairs and didn\u2019t do much to hide them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lou could be cruel to Fran, his wife of fifty-nine years, but he loved his youngest son. Tom was a skin-and-bones, nervous boy, devoted to his mother, but Lou sought to turn him into a version of himself. He showered him with advice about how to dress (\u201cA turtleneck is the most flattering thing a man can wear\u201d), how to be an alpha male, and especially, how to attract and bed women. His parting speech when Tom went to college was: \u201cDo yourself a favor and date a Jewish girl. They\u2019re all nymphos.\u201d When Tom started seeing his future wife, Janet, Lou\u2019s efforts to entice Tom into his version of manhood accelerated on nights in New York, L.A., and Paris. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tom wrestled with Lou\u2019s imposing presence all his life. When one of Lou\u2019s mistresses stood up at his funeral and announced, \u201cCan we all . . . just agree . . . that this . . . was a man,\u201d Tom set off to learn the facts of his father\u2019s life, and why he was the way he was. The stunning secrets he uncovered\u2014about his father, his father\u2019s lovers, and deceptions going back generations\u2014staggered Tom, but in the process allowed him, at last, to become his own man, by his own lights. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Days of My Youth I Was Told What It Means to Be a Man <\/em>is an intensely emotional detective story powered by a series of cascading revelations. The book is a triumph of bravura writing; it is a tale of a son reckoning with the consequences of his father\u2019s life, and in the end, the story of the son\u2019s redemption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the Author<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tom Junod is senior writer for ESPN<\/strong>, where his work has won an Emmy and the Dan Jenkins Medal for Excellence in Sportswriting. He is a two-time winner of the National Magazine Award for Feature Writing, and a winner of the James Beard Award for essay writing. Previously he was a staff writer at GQ <\/em>and Esquire<\/em>. The film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood <\/strong><\/em>was based on his article in Esquire. He lives in Atlanta with his wife and daughter.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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