The Measure of a Man

A Globe and Mail Best Book

“A personal yet universal story about a son’s quest to understand his father. This beautiful, cleverly executed story gets to the very heart of the most basic masculine bond, and how even through disappointment, abandonment, anger, confusion and pain, a son can love, honour and protect his father.”
—Globe and Mail
 
“Beautifully crafted, Lee’s memoir is a heartbreaking page-turner about a family, an abusive father, and men’s fashion. Who could have thought these themes could work together? In his first book, Lee has shown us how.”
—Jury citation, Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction
 
“Lee seamlessly weaves together elements of painful personal experience, fashion history, and his modern-day quest to learn the art of tailoring and find a place for himself in the world. . . . An intimate and thoughtful rumination on what it means to be a son, a father, and a man.”
—Schema Magazine
 
“An exquisite book.”
—Maclean’s
 
“Touching and inquisitive . . . [A] striking and accomplished blend of humour, information and pathos. . . . [A] thoughtful and intermittently provocative memoir.”
—National Post
 
“A deftly crafted memoir. . . .”
—Montreal Gazette
 
“At times incredibly witty and wry, and at other times endearing and touching . . . The Measure of a Man is a great read.”
—Tenth to the Fraser
 
“[An] often heartbreaking yet humorous and compelling memoir. . . .” 
—Calgary Herald
 
“Takes us into the nearly vanished world of exquisite, made-to-measure suit tailoring, and on his personal journey to understand his late father’s life and the sometimes-tormented relationship the two shared. . . . His tender, sometimes funny and often achingly sad story revolves around a suit left behind after his father’s death, and his desire to remake it into something that would fit him. I loved this book for its honest tone as well as for the spicy tidbits of suit-making history with which he seasons his story. . . .”
—Chronicle Herald (Halifax)
 
“Lee’s book skillfully weaves a personal struggle to understand his estranged father after his death through the process of repurposing his dad’s suit to fit his smaller frame. . . . Truly inspires.”
—Gear Patrol

“A graceful, compelling memoir. . . . A thoughtful, loving and honest narrative, elegant in its clarity and observation.”
—Minneapolis-Saint Paul Star Tribune