Son of a Preacher Man

I was flying from Rio to San Marcos, Texas, in December 1977 for my year as a Rotary student, but it was hard to concentrate on the book I was reading on American history. I got to a bit on Roosevelt’s New Deal. This would normally have fascinated me but I struggled to focus because I knew I had an essential task to fulfil: a prayer to deliver. Finally, I closed my eyes: ‘Dear Lord, I know what I’m about to say will upset you, but I am taking a year off from being a Christian. I am having a year’s break. Amen.’

Gavin Evans’ father was a bishop, a husband and father, and a fair-minded man with passion for social justice. He could also throw a mean punch at his 11-year-old son. Gavin was never sure what father he’d encounter, and in this extraordinary memoir, he tries to piece together the world of his father, the disintegration of their relationship and the journey to love and healing just before the bishop’s death.

Gavin Evans lectures at Birkbeck, University of London, and is the author of nine books. He remains a journalist, writing for Aeon, the Conversation and the Guardian in recent years. Evans was born in London but lived in South Africa for 30 years and was involved in several anti-apartheid organisations and in the ANC. He lives in North London with his wife, the author Margie Orford, and has two daughters and a grandson. He runs marathons.