Raising Fences
A Black Man's Love Story
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- 11,99 €
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- 11,99 €
Publisher Description
This New York Times–bestselling memoir about an African American man’s struggles and triumphs is “heartrending and beautiful” (Junot Diaz Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao).
A Today Show Book Club selection, Raising Fences tells the story of a man whose youth was spent committing petty crimes, experimenting with sex, and developing a mortal fear of police. Like many young black men, Michael Datcher’s childhood was marked by the gaping hole left by an absent father. Out of that absence grew the desire to fulfill a dream that seemed almost a fantasy: to leave the streets behind, build a family, and become what he had wanted so badly—a good father.
Moving past his self-destructive habits and taking responsibility for his mistakes wasn’t easy. Datcher’s journey nearly brought him to his breaking point—where he faced the threat of becoming what he feared most.
“Datcher’s voice is clear, bold, daring, and welcome.” —Junot Diaz, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
“Honest, brisk and ultimately very moving . . . A beautiful story of real-life redemption.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Combines attitude, honesty and romance . . . A stunning tribute to perseverance, courage and the power of positive thinking.” —Publishers Weekly
“Brutally honest, hauntingly poetic . . . Heartbreaking.” —Essence
“Riveting.” —USA Today
“Poignant . . . Complex.” —The Seattle Times
“An inspiration to all who dare to dream of a better life.” —The Star-Ledger
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Much like Mark Matousek's acclaimed memoir, Sex Death Enlightenment, Datcher's debut confronts the psychosocial damage caused by fatherlessness. In this case, the paternal absence is compounded by abandonment by Datcher's mother. A former editor-in-chief at Image magazine, and now a successful poet and writer, the author spent part of his childhood in Long Beach, Calif., obsessed with the idea of becoming a husband and father, but determined not to become an absentee dad like many of the men in his African-American community. As a young boy, he idolized his adoptive mother, who acted as an emotional anchor for him during the turbulent years of his adolescence in the 1970s. (She had been handpicked to raise him by Datcher's biological mother, who had been raped at age 16.) Datcher's voice in this heartfelt confessional alternates between that of a truly bewildered young man desperately seeking a male role model and a hip, cocksure guy. Emotionally withdrawn and suffering from a stutter, Datcher seeks to find his way by running with a group of other lost souls, briefly stumbling into petty crime that leads to arrest and being terrorized by police. Later, he becomes romantically involved with a young Dominican woman, though complications soon develop that threaten to cast him into the role of absentee father that he has so long resisted. Deeply reflective, occasionally offbeat and tearful, Datcher's memoir combines attitude, honesty and romance in a way that should appeal to both men and women. This triumphant tale is a stunning tribute to perseverance, courage and the power of positive thinking.
