An autobiographical look at the life of the author through the relationship with the three matriarchs in his life. Firstly, his birth mother who, whilst not having a direct influence on his day-to-day existence, her decision to put him up for adoption had an overarching influence on how he viewed his life and its events. Secondly his adopted mother, who had the most direct influence during his formative years and who brought her own emotionless relationship with her parents to bear on her parenting. Finally, her sister who, despite sharing the same stilted childhood relationship took a very different mental approach to her life which took a very different path as a consequence. She had a strong influence on him in a much more positive way.
The book looks at how all three of these influences affected his life and determined when and how he became a man.