Bedtime Stories: Adventures in the Land of Single-Fatherhood

Screenwriter, author and Los Angeles resident Ellis (Right Here, Right Now) relates his story of heartbreak and child-rearing with candor, comedy and self-awareness, making this emotionally turbulent ride instantly and tirelessly engaging. The conversational chronicle tells how young African-American novelist Ellis met and lost his wife (to a New Age shaman), leaving him to deal, often on his own, with a three-year-old daughter and an eight-month-old son. Fast-paced and fun, Ellis's story indulges readers with hilarious details from all aspects of the single-dad life, from nannies to schools to his crazy ex, from his writing career to his sex life, taking playful detours along the way for daydreams and song lyrics (""It's so hard trying to remember what it was like those first nights... alone singing my kids the theme song to The Mary Tyler Moore Show""). Ellis also incorporates stories from his ""often-depressed, cartoonishly nerdly"" childhood years, revealing the ins and outs of his parents' own ""shitty marriage."" A first-rate story-teller with an effortless sense of humor and pathos (""I have always been a big fan of self-pity""), Ellis and his memoir deserve a place among pop culture's most beloved Mr. Moms.