A contemporary account of growing up and coming to terms with a bewildering father. Dour and exuberant by turns, Edward Cooper's moods dictated the always uncertain climate of the household. As the book begins, Bernard and his father are the last remaining members of the family that once included his mother and three older brothers. Now retired and living in a run-down trailer, Edward Cooper had once been a celebrated divorce attorney. An expert at "the dissolution of human relationships," the elder Cooper is slowly succumbing to dementia. As the author attempts to forge a coherent picture of the family history, he discovers some peculiar documents involving lawsuits against other family members, and recalls an itemized bill his father once sent him for the cost of his upbringing. By the time the author receives his inheritance, the book has become a meditation on both monetary and emotional indebtedness, and on the mysterious nature of memory and love.--From publisher description.