“I love the book, but I hate the story.” That’s author Doug Box’s take on Texas Patriarch: A Legacy Lost, the story of his family’s financial rise and fall. Box spent four years writing this biography in the hopes that readers walk away with an understanding of the painful lessons his family learned the hard way.

Box will speak at the Depot at Frisco Heritage Center on Thursday, April 6, from 7 - 8:30pm. The event is sponsored by the Heritage Association of Frisco, the Frisco Heritage Museum, and the Friends of the Frisco Public Library. Box will discuss his father, Cloyce Box; the ranch’s role as “Southfork” in the iconic television series Dallas; and the financial and emotional losses sustained by his family.

“Writing Texas Patriarch was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” explains Box. “The book almost killed me but I had to do it.”  Patriarch is not a feel-good read. It’s a soul-baring story that Box wrote because, “it needed to be told.”

“I didn’t write Texas Patriarch for the purpose of glorifying my father and all that he accomplished in his life,” says Box. “Nor did I write it to fully exploit the many misdeeds that me and my brothers committed, misdeeds that ended up destroying much of our wealth.  I wrote it to motivate families to work harder and be smarter about preserving their family’s wealth enterprise.  In that sense, Texas Patriarch is really a cautionary tale.”

Whether a Texas history buff, a fan of all things Dallas, or a person intrigued by a prestigious family’s story, this evening has you covered.

Find directions to the Depot at friscoheritage.org/heritage-center/the-depot/. Learn more about the event at friscolibrary.com/event/meet-author-douglas-box. Visit the library at friscolibrary.com.