Goddard MFA in Creative Writing alumnus John Hadden‘s book Conversations with a Masked Man: My Father, the CIA, and Me was published by Arcade Publishing. James Carroll, author of An American Requiem, says John’s book is “a poignant encounter” in which he “shows how the wounds of the past refuse to heal, and how acknowledging that truth can open into hard won wisdom — and even love.”
John, a long-time Shakespeare director/actor/teacher/artistic director and playwright, lives in an octagon house he built in Landgrove, VT. He grew up with his father in different hot spots, starting with his birth during riots in Soviet-surrounded Berlin in 1953. He was in Israel during the Six-Day War in 1967, all the time never realizing what his father was doing (he was CIA Station Chief in Israel). The book is filled with verbatim dialogue, history, Middle East insight and alternately horrifying and hilarious exchanges between himself and his father.
John is also doing a solo performance derived from the book, playing both characters. Video clip and other endorsements, news and reviews at John’s website: www.maskedman.org.