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My Bully, My Aunt, & Her Final Gift

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About The Book

“Sometimes the death of a loved one can fix your pain.”

A Funeral that turned into a Comedy show. The death of my evil aunt taught me a lot about grief, love, loss, resentments, and redemptions. After her death, I was tasked with the job of putting together a Memorial that no one wanted to attend. It’s far from being grim with laughter til the end.

In “My Bully, My Aunt, and Her Final Gift”, Harold Phifer revisits the complicated relationship he shared with his late Aunt Kathy, a woman who stood as the antithesis of positivity in his life. Despite her domineering and often cruel behavior, her passing left Harold with an unexpected opportunity for humor, healing, and reflection. As he plans her memorial—a gathering that no one seems eager to attend—Harold’s childhood memories resurface, pulling him back into a world shaped by his aunt’s unpredictable rules and twisted philosophies. Blending heartfelt truths with laugh-out-loud moments, Harold weaves a tale of resilience, self-discovery, and ultimately, redemption. This memoir offers a lighthearted yet honest look at how even the darkest relationships can leave behind gifts of wisdom and self-awareness.

About The Author

Picture of Harold Phifer

Harold Phifer

Harold Phifer was born in the rebellious South of Columbus, Mississippi. As a kid, he worked the streets, hustled the neighbors, and bust tables at bars he didn’t belong in. After walking the stage at Caldwell High School, he went own to graduate from Mississippi State and Jackson State Universities respectively. Then he started his career as an Air Traffic Controller in Memphis, Tennessee. However, he was never at peace with himself. So, after 23 years, he left the United States and took a job as an International Contractor. Working with soldiers gave him a sense of duty and purpose. However, it all came with a price and experiences he wasn’t prepared for. As luck would have it, he got expelled out of Iraq due to the U S Military Drawdown in October 2011. Later, he resurfaced in Afghanistan for 8 additional years as a mercenary. But unfortunately, he was forced to leave that country after The Taliban takeover in August 2021. After escaping with his life, he took a position under the safety of Guantanamo Bay Naval base. Here, he wrote more books and continued to work as an Air Traffic Controller. So, in 2024, he left Cuba on his own accord then returned to the Middle East. Meantimes, he’s still creating stories about adventure, love, life, and the human spirit. 

Reader Reviews

Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers’ Favorite
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"My Bully, My Aunt, & Her Final Gift by Harold Phifer is a hilarious and surprisingly touching story about family, redemption, and the afterlife. It all kicks off at the funeral of Hal’s mean-spirited aunt, where a pastor is determined to talk her way into heaven, even though she spent her life making everyone miserable. As Hal sits there, trying to figure out how he feels about her possible salvation, the funeral takes a turn for the ridiculous, spiraling into chaos. But beneath all the laughs, the book also digs into some real questions about family, forgiveness, and how we make peace with the past. Harold Phifer has a knack for finding humor in even the darkest moments. I was laughing out loud about death and the afterlife from the first pages of this novel, but then also really thinking about the bigger picture in its quieter moments. The way Phifer captures messy family dynamics feels real, and the story never takes itself too seriously while still touching on some deep truths via the engaging and natural-sounding dialogue. The twists kept me hooked with a great sense of pacing to pick things up again before it gets too slow, and I loved how the author used comedy to explore emotions that aren’t always easy to talk about. What stuck with me most is how the story manages to be both sharp and heartfelt at the same time. Overall, I’d definitely recommend My Bully, My Aunt, & Her Final Gift to anyone who loves dark humor with a side of family drama."
Reviewed by Foluso Falaye for Readers’ Favorite
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"My Bully, My Aunt, & Her Final Gift by Harold Phifer portrays Hal's chaotic relationship with his aunt as he prepares for her memorial and relives old memories. From Aunt Kathy whipping Hal before school to her wish that he become a minister of God, Hal's stories take us through the funny and daunting challenges that he faced as a child. After getting a call that Aunt Kathy has passed away, Hal leaves Afghanistan to join his family and old acquaintances as they prepare for the funeral. Aunt Kathy's death forces Hal to confront his neglected past by meeting his annoying brothers and returning to the church the woman seemed to terrorize while she was alive. As Hal works toward a successful funeral, he meets some roadblocks and surprises that cause him to view life with a fresh perspective. Harold is a highly skilled and witty writer. I found myself marveling at the protagonist's hilarious words, like when he says that his brothers "called him everything except a Child of God or Son of Man." Hal's thoughts are shared in the first person, revealing his quest to find himself amidst the imposing influence of his aunt and her controlling ways. Their chaotic relationship creates a tense and erratic atmosphere, as well as various funny stories. Hal's engaging recollections present a relatable coming-of-age tale—allowing us to follow his contemplations on his early school experiences, childhood friends, and his involvement with religion at a young age. Overall, My Bully, My Aunt, & Her Final Gift is a very entertaining book filled with multiple interesting characters and stories. Harold Phifer writes so well that I hope to read his other books."
Reviewed by Pikasho Deka for Readers’ Favorite
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"Inspired by his own life, My Bully, My Aunt, & Her Final Gift is a hilarious comedy-drama novella by Harold Phifer. Stationed in Kabul, Afghanistan, Hal receives an unexpected phone call from Pastor Keith of the Zion Gate Union Baptist Church in Columbus, Mississippi, informing him that his Aunt Kathy has passed away. Pastor Keith further explains that he is doing Aunt Kathy's eulogy and needs Hal's help during the funeral service to ensure she finds the passage to heaven. But Hal's experiences with Aunt Kathy were completely different as his alcoholic older brother, Jerry, used to be the apple of her eye. As Hal attends the funeral, he goes down memory lane and relives his past experiences with Aunt Kathy, eventually receiving an unexpected gift after he realizes that he must move on. Harold Phifer tells an entertaining tale with a generous dose of dark humor and drama. My Bully, My Aunt, & Her Final Gift demonstrates how the past has a way of shaping a person's entire outlook toward life and relationships. The story is hilarious, featuring a protagonist who never misses a moment to make fun of all the absurdity surrounding him, whether through his witty quips or monologues laden with sarcasm. Hal is likable and easy to sympathize with. I loved how he took charge of the congregation during the service. Aunt Kathy is this larger-than-life character who affects people's lives even after her death. I also enjoyed the dynamic between the three brothers and their different personalities. Overall, it's a breezy read that's bound to get a few chuckles out of you."
Reviewed by David Jaggart for Readers’ Favorite
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"In My Bully, My Aunt, and Her Final Gift, author Harold Phifer merges fictional and non-fictional events to depict a compelling narrative of his life. The story commences in Afghanistan, where Harold is stationed. Years prior, he left Mississippi in a bid to escape his old life--and his Aunt Kathy. After receiving an unnerving phone call from Pastor Keith, informing him of his aunt's passing, Harold half-heartedly travels to Mississippi to offer his assistance at her memorial. As these events unfold, he recalls his childhood memories, overshadowed by poverty and his mother’s prolonged battle with schizophrenia. Unfortunately, these events paled in comparison to his Aunt Kathy's intense contempt and control over Harold's family life, which extended to their local church and its members. Nevertheless, her passing provides him with the much-needed opportunity to confront his painful past. My Bully, My Aunt, and Her Final Gift by Harold Phifer is a visceral read that explores the author's volatile formative years and his path to closure in great detail. In a narrative sprinkled with touches of irony and humor, Harold dauntlessly reveals the scars of his childhood to readers. The overt ridicule and never-ending hostility he experienced at the hands of his aunt were hard to stomach but necessary for readers to put themselves in his shoes. His narrative is both uplifting and heart-rending as he traverses through the intricacies of his past with openness and candor. Harold's willingness to explore those unpleasant memories--and share them with us--is admirable. His path to self-assurance and inner healing is a testimony to the resilience of the human spirit. This intriguing book will offer comfort to persons facing their own unique challenges. I highly recommend this read."
Reviewed by Leonard Smuts for Readers’ Favorite
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"To say that Hal led a troubled life would be an understatement. His mother suffered from a mental illness and was unstable. As a result, his overbearing aunt played a major, yet destructive, role in his upbringing. Aunt Kathy was a devout Christian, but her deeds contradicted Christian love and compassion. She embodied undesirable traits that included being manipulative, stubborn, sadistic, and illogical, as well as being judgmental and a poor cook into the bargain. Aunt Kathy favored Hal's older brother Jerry, who could do no wrong in her eyes. It is into this cauldron of dysfunction that Harold Phifer places Hal, a child trying to survive his family, in My Bully, My Aunt, and Her Final Gift. Hal reflects on his childhood, from Christmas to Easter events, and his first years at school. Sibling rivalry added to the toxic mix. He took up baseball and the Boy Scouts, but Aunt Kathy went out of her way to destroy his dreams. In adulthood, he escaped to far-off Afghanistan, only to be called home to be a key speaker at his aunt’s funeral. This brought him into contact with his errant brothers and the larger-than-life Pastor Keith, evoking memories that he would prefer to keep buried. Good comedy often incorporates an underlying air of pathos, and Harold Phifer captures this perfectly, blending it with elements of irony, nostalgia, trauma, and humor, as all the while Hal endured tyranny and searched for a better life without his aunt. His writing captures the ethos of a bygone era, tinged with the unhappiness of a dysfunctional upbringing on the wrong side of the tracks. The result is an evocative reflection on childhood, made all the more real by it being based on a real-life situation. The charismatic church and its overly zealous members played a prominent role but with an underlying streak of hypocrisy. The interplay between Pastor Keith and Aunt Kathy revealed the darker side of religion with its facades and double standards. Family relationships are dissected. The burial service swung from religious fervor to farce, degenerating into chaos as Hal’s brothers got up to their usual disruptive tricks. Funerals always beg the question as to whether tributes should speak ill of the dead or be honest. My Bully, My Aunt, and Her Final Gift explores Hal’s dilemma in a quirky, amusing, and poignant manner that is highly entertaining and uplifting. Would Hal’s tribute to his aunt be one of rejection or redemption? An amusing and engrossing work!"

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My Bully, My Aunt, & Her Final Gift

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