NYS Writers Institute: Conversation with Tom Junod, journalist and author
The book explores his relationship with his father, “Big Lou” Junod, a traveling handbag salesman “who dominated every room he entered, worshipped the sun and the sea, his own bronzed body, Frank Sinatra, and beautiful women.” Junod disentangles his memories and feelings about a charismatic, philandering father who tried to mold his son in his image, the many secrets he hid, and ultimately, the true meaning of manhood. Ayad Akhtar called it, “a deeply affecting search for truth, as brave as it is beautiful.”
Tom Junod
4:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 7, 2026
University at Albany
Multi-Purpose Room
Campus Center West Addition
1400 Washington Avenue
Albany NY 12222
Free and open to the public.
Books will be available for sale.
A signing will follow the conversation.
Praise for In the Days of My Youth I Was Told What It Means To Be A Man
“Tom Junod’s long-awaited memoir is a brilliant addition to the literature of fathers and sons, a gorgeously written, unexpectedly suspenseful saga that somehow navigates the agonizing paradox at its core: I am my father’s son, Junod declares proudly, and yet I’m also very much not my father’s son. The squaring of that paradox—in Junod’s reporting, in his heart—makes for a haunting, unforgettable read.”
—J.R. Moehringer, New York Times bestselling author of The Tender Bar
“There is no question that Tom Junod has mastered the art of looking outside himself. But here he startles with a propulsive, emotional look inward, an intense examination of his charismatic, maddening father and, ultimately, of himself. The result is deep and brooding, a beautifully rendered portrait of family, masculinity, and what it means to find your own way in the world.”
—Susan Orlean, New York Times bestselling author of The Orchid Thief and Joyride
Event Links
Website: https://go.evvnt.com/3472495-0
