“Once in a great while a writer comes along whose story—and sound—is so unique and wonderful that they change everything, from the way you read to the way you look at the world. Donnell Alexander is one of those writers.” —Philadelphia Weekly “Moving easily from hip-hop jargon (Alexander understands American pop culture from the inside out, with a special grasp of hip-hop) to highbrow prose and many styles in between, Alexander’s voice is engaging, his persona extremely likable.” —San Francisco Chronicle “Donnell Alexander writes the way Missy Elliott builds tracks. He changes speeds, moods, and directions without warning, using wildly different voices....His writing is, in a word, relentless.”—New York Press Donnell Alexander grew up in the cramped spaces of Sandusky, Ohio, the son of a devout mother and a dad named Delbert, a protean genius who jacked a thousand identities—from pimpin’ them hoes to preaching the gospel—but skipped out on fatherhood when his son was in diapers. Donnell unwittingly replayed Delbert’s tragedy as farce until he used his writing skills to conjure his own outrageous tale. Told in multiple voices, freestyle raps, and a graphic interlude, this is the riotous story of one writer’s mission to find truth in the margins and an engrossing tale about phantom fathers and the sons they leave behind.