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Don't Cry for Me: A Novel
Don't miss Daniel Black's next novel Isaac's Song coming January 2025
From the Georgia Author of the Year Award Winner
NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK IN ESSENCE MAGAZINE, THE MILLIONS AND BOOKISH
"Don't Cry for Me is a perfect song."--Jesmyn Ward
A Black father makes amends with his gay son through letters written on his deathbed in this wise and penetrating novel of empathy and forgiveness, for fans of Ta-Nehisi Coates, Robert Jones Jr. and Alice Walker
As Jacob lies dying, he begins to write a letter to his only son, Isaac. They have not met or spoken in many years, and there are things that Isaac must know. Stories about his ancestral legacy in rural Arkansas that extend back to slavery. Secrets from Jacob's tumultuous relationship with Isaac's mother and the shame he carries from the dissolution of their family. Tragedies that informed Jacob's role as a father and his reaction to Isaac's being gay.
But most of all, Jacob must share with Isaac the unspoken truths that reside in his heart. He must give voice to the trauma that Isaac has inherited. And he must create a space for the two to find peace.
With piercing insight and profound empathy, acclaimed author Daniel Black illuminates the lived experiences of Black fathers and queer sons, offering an authentic and ultimately hopeful portrait of reckoning and reconciliation. Spare as it is sweeping, poetic as it is compulsively readable, Don't Cry for Me is a monumental novel about one family grappling with love's hard edges and the unexpected places where hope and healing take flight.
From the Georgia Author of the Year Award Winner
NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK IN ESSENCE MAGAZINE, THE MILLIONS AND BOOKISH
"Don't Cry for Me is a perfect song."--Jesmyn Ward
A Black father makes amends with his gay son through letters written on his deathbed in this wise and penetrating novel of empathy and forgiveness, for fans of Ta-Nehisi Coates, Robert Jones Jr. and Alice Walker
As Jacob lies dying, he begins to write a letter to his only son, Isaac. They have not met or spoken in many years, and there are things that Isaac must know. Stories about his ancestral legacy in rural Arkansas that extend back to slavery. Secrets from Jacob's tumultuous relationship with Isaac's mother and the shame he carries from the dissolution of their family. Tragedies that informed Jacob's role as a father and his reaction to Isaac's being gay.
But most of all, Jacob must share with Isaac the unspoken truths that reside in his heart. He must give voice to the trauma that Isaac has inherited. And he must create a space for the two to find peace.
With piercing insight and profound empathy, acclaimed author Daniel Black illuminates the lived experiences of Black fathers and queer sons, offering an authentic and ultimately hopeful portrait of reckoning and reconciliation. Spare as it is sweeping, poetic as it is compulsively readable, Don't Cry for Me is a monumental novel about one family grappling with love's hard edges and the unexpected places where hope and healing take flight.
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Community Reviews
Family dynamics and relationships are difficult. (If you have a wonderful relationship with a parent, I applaud you!
Jacob Swinton lies dying. His wife is dead. HIs immediate family is dead. And, he doesn’t speak to his only son.
This book is his letters to his son with hope to ….
~leave him knowledge of how he was raised; his history
~his family legacy; and how it affected his son’s childhood
~and in a sense, his apology
Jacob grew up in Arkansas. His mother was shot when he was two, so he was raised by his grandparents in the 60’s. His ancestral legacy dates back to slavery. Jacob had a tumultuous relationship with his Rachel, his wife, and his son, Issac…possibly because of generational trauma.
The letters explore the torment and sadness that Jacob felt for all that he lost because of (for lack of a better word) “ego”, “stubbornness”, and possibly just the way he was raised (no emotion, “men were men”, you worked hard for all you had…just to name a few).
This is a love letter from father to son. It’s raw. It’s emotional. It touches on just how much slavery STILL affects and oppresses black families and women.
5 Star from me ... .this truly touched my heart. It was a rare insight into a black man’s untreated life.
(The writing of this book was beautifully written!)
This book makes me sad.
My wish is that every shitty parent realizes they're a shitty parent and apologizes to their children.
My wish is that every shitty parent realizes they're a shitty parent and apologizes to their children.
Beautifully written and insightful! Definitely gave our book club so much to discuss. Relationships between black fathers and sons, masculinity, how our parents functioned that were brought up in that same time frame, and of course, also male sexuality. It was very eye! Definitely left us with a lot to think about. And if anybody reads this recommendation, although I recommend this book, I absolutely 1000% Recommend his other book. Perfect Peace!!
This story is so beautifully written. This story touched my heart in so many places… I understand the father’s struggles through life and how he raised his son. But struggled with the father. It being able to break the generational curses he endured before his end came. The love he had for his son and his son for him but they couldn’t never connect
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