History lessons : a memoir of madness, memory, and the brain
(Book)

"Born in Louisiana to a soon-to-be absent father and an alcoholic mother, Clifton Crais spent his childhood perched beside his mother on a bar stool, living with relatives too old or infirmed to care for him. Growing up this way would leave even the strongest child with painful memories, but an even more unfortunate fate befell Crais: to this day he can't remember any of it. In an effort to restore his lost childhood, Crais brings the tools of his formal training as a historian to bear on himself and his family. Blending memoir, scientific research, and historical deduction, History lessons is an evocative exploration of how the past-- or lack of one-- shapes who we are."-- back cover.