.com Thank goodness Antwone Fisher's story has a happy ending--otherwise, his searing memoir would be nearly unbearable to read. His father was killed by a gunshot blast shortly before he was born in 1959; his 17-year-old mother gave him up for foster care. Unfortunately for Antwone, his foster mother was as successful at browbeating and demeaning her many wards as she was at lying to the Child Welfare authorities. His working-class African American neighborhood in Cleveland became purgatory for a sensitive, intelligent boy who quickly turned into a withdrawn underperformer at school. In Fisher's blow-by-blow account of his childhood, his sexual abuse at the hands of a female neighbor is hardly more horrifying than his foster mother's relentless cruelty--especially because respectable, churchgoing Mrs. Pickett justifies it all as due to the boy's wicked faults. Readers will be relieved when she dumps 15-year-old Antwone back at the Child Welfare office, even though he will endure homelessness and a scary spell of criminal employment, before an 11-year stint in the Navy provides him with a way forward. Grim though his tale is, Fisher displays throughout it the grit and stubborn integrity that kept him sane. He musters up some understanding (not forgiveness) for the dreadful Mrs. Pickett, and his eventual meeting with his burned-out mother is painfully poignant. He certainly deserves the beautiful wife and cute two-year-old daughter, cooking pancakes for him in the book's closing and redemptive scene. --Wendy SmithFrom Publishers WeeklyAn unflinching look at the adverse effects foster care can have on a child's life, this stunning autobiography rises above the pack of success fables from survivors of America's inner cities. Born in the 1950s to an underage single mother serving time in prison for murder, Fisher was placed in the home of a staunch minister and his wife, who appeared to be a loving couple to the series of foster care workers who monitored their home in one of Cleveland's working-class neighborhoods. Writing in a deft mix of elegant prose and forceful dialect, Fisher is especially adept at dramatizing the tactics of control and intimidation practiced by his foster mother on the abused children in her care, such as crushing Fisher's self-esteem by calling him worthless, shaming one girl after she began her period and making the boys bathe with Clorox. (Fisher supports his detailed recollections with excerpts from the actual foster-care records.) An added bonus is the author's vibrant recreation of several key black neighborhoods in Cleveland during the golden age of the Black Power movement, before the areas disappeared under the aegis of urban "renewal." If a major feature of survival memoirs is their ability to impress readers with the subject's long, steady climb to redemption and excellence, then this engrossing book is a classic. (Feb. 5) Forecast: Boosted this season by a national ad campaign, 25-city radio campaign and a six-city author tour, interest in Fisher's autobiography is guaranteed to swell when the movie adaptation of the book (shooting this month and directed by Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington, who will also star) hits screens nationwide (tentatively scheduled for next winter). Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.From Library JournalFisher's early life could have destroyed him: born to an unwed mother in a juvenile facility and a father who was killed by another girlfriend, he was sent to an abusive foster mother who eventually threw him out. Fisher found himself on the street, but he was lucky. He had a teacher who encouraged him to reach for his goals, social workers who tried to help, and other mentors who saw the good in him and forced him to try harder. Fisher is a phenomenal writer who tells his story in a straightforward fashion, using beautiful language. Listeners will get caught up in tales of his foster siblings and neighborhood friends; they will root for him to overcome his encounters with drug dealers; and they will cheer his success and the love he has found with his birth family and his wife and daughter. Alton Fitzgerald White does a fine job helping to bring the young Fisher to life. The author himself takes over the reading at the end, relating what led to his starting a new career as a screenwriter. An excellent production; for all libraries. Danna Bell-Russel, Library of Congress Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. how do you find the genre of a book Finding Fish
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Powerful - Gut-Wrenching - Inspirational - Deeply SatisfyingBy M. AronsonThis is one of the most memorable and deeply affecting books I've ever read.I found the very beginning a little hard to follow (a brief history of his birth parents.) But once Antwone came into the picture, the narrative flowed easily. The cruelty, abuse, neglect, and emotional detachment visited upon Antwone by his foster family was difficult to learn about, although (unfortunately) believable. We might have expected a bleak childhood like his to have developed into a short, sad life in a gang, a bad end in prison, or permanent homelessness. But Antwone's inner strengths were apparently much greater than the negative forces working against him, and he was thus able to make conscious choices that would lead him to have a fulfilling, respectable, and respected life.I was particularly touched by his relationship with one teacher who changed his life, who helped him change his self-view from helpless victim to master of his own destiny. His later stint in the U.S. Navy was also memorable, as that service enabled him to discover talents and strengths he never knew he had.In some ways, Antwone Fisher is a mystery, since he wound up being much greater than the sum of his upbringing. Perhaps he is a living testament to "nature" having at least as much power over a person as "nurture" does, since his grandparents and many of his later-discovered extended family were highly-accomplished, loving, simply nice, people. His ultimate message is that we needn't be held back by the toxicity of the people who raised us; rather, we are free to leave them behind and make a bright new path for ourselves.I highly recommend this book!2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Social workers aren't held in high regard hardly anywhere and its through their own fault that this ill regard for them everywheBy Dana Marie WardTo be fair, there are many true life, verifiable horror stories of children placed within the care of the Government foster system only to be maltreated, abused, neglected and taken advantaged of by the system and people who swore that it was "helping". This memoir is not any different.Its important that these incidents are made known and that the public welfare system is held just as accountable as everyone else - And perhaps more so.Social workers aren't held in high regard hardly anywhere and its through their own fault that this ill regard for them everywhere exists - The few good that helps, doesn't outweight the large majority that take their position and runs roughshod over so many and abuses the population that they are in a position to help.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A Must Read!By CustomerA deeply touching and moving recount of his life and profoundly insightful reflection of his experiences and lessons, Mr. Antwone Quenton Fisher deserves national recognition for his demonstrated ability to rise, like the phoenix from the ashes. What an endearing, yet socially and educationally relevant story. All social workers, psychologists, educators, and social-educational organization reformers should read. He is a true testament of our God-gifted potential. Additionally, Antwone is a most impressive and skilled writer, capturing the finest and subtlest essences of every experience, event, and emotion. I salute him for sharing his story with us. A must read!