Dear Michael, Love Dad

'wonderful, moving, humorous ... extremely poignant' Charlie Mortimer, Dear Lupin '...by turns acidly funny, exasperating and poignant, painting a moving portrait both of mental illness and of a father in denial. But paternal love... shines through.' Caroline Sanderson, Sunday Express Letters, Laughter and all the things we leave unsaid... Dear Michael, Moving your whatnots et al into the flat has put paid to any improvements in my back. Still, at least it's done now.Your mother is already worrying how you'll cope and is at work on reams of notes on all sorts of matters from how to tell if meat has gone off to washing whites. Smell it and wear black is my advice. Please do try to master the can opener and other basics before calling. You know how she worries. When Iain Maitland's eldest son left home for university he wrote regularly to him; funny, curmudgeonly letters chronicling their family life and giving Michael unsolicited and hopeless advice on everything from DIY to women. He never expected a reply - they were simply his way of continuing their relationship. What Iain didn't realise was that away from home his beloved boy was suffering from depression and anorexia. Only much later did it become apparent to Iain and his wife just how oblivious they had been, and for how very long. Told through Iain's letters and the unfolding reality of Michael's situation, Dear Michael, Love Dad forces us to question how well we can ever truly know our loved ones, but most of all expresses the unbreakable bond between a father and son.