This Is Who I Am: An Exclusive Guest Post from Kwame Alexander, Author of Why Fathers Cry at Night
Hardcover
$25.20
$28.00
Why Fathers Cry at Night: A Memoir in Love Poems, Letters, Recipes, and Remembrances
Why Fathers Cry at Night: A Memoir in Love Poems, Letters, Recipes, and Remembrances
In Stock Online
Hardcover
$25.20
$28.00
In his first book for adults, bestselling author and Newbery Medalist Kwame Alexander delivers a powerful, intimate and utterly original memoir that tracks his own coming-of-age as a son, a husband, a father, and a man in poetry, letters, recipes and more.
In his first book for adults, bestselling author and Newbery Medalist Kwame Alexander delivers a powerful, intimate and utterly original memoir that tracks his own coming-of-age as a son, a husband, a father, and a man in poetry, letters, recipes and more.
Why Fathers Cry at Night did not start as a memoir. I did not sit down and think, “Well, now it’s time to write a book about ME and the woes of my love life!” This book began as a collection of love poems, inspired by the two greatest loves of my life: my daughters.
But as I went deeper into the love, I went deeper into myself, and I realized that love has been the thread throughout my life. Love I’ve given and received, love I’ve craved but couldn’t grasp, love I asked for or expected but was denied, love I denied others, love I denied my self. That thread of love at times has felt strong enough to hoist sails, and other times, as thin as frayed floss.
You know that feeling? Like it’s going to disappear? But here’s the beauty: it doesn’t. Ever. And I keep holding on to it, through my triumphs, yes, but also my tragedies, because I am not a grown man – I am a growing man. And this is a journey of continuous learning about what it really means to be a man. To be a father. To be a son. To be a lover.
So what began as a collection inspired by my daughters is now a memoir that serves as a love letter to them. These are my experiences, real and raw and true. Whether painful or beautiful or both, as a father, I hope what they take away from it, what you take away from it, is the love that makes us human. And as I say in my dedication to them in the book, This is who I am.
Ten Reasons Why Fathers Cry at Night
From Why Fathers Cry at Night
By Kwame Alexander
1. Because teenagers don’t like park swings or long walks
anymore unless you’re in the mall.
2. Because holding her hand is forbidden and kisses are lethal.
3. Because school was “fine,” her day was “fine,”
and yes, she’s “fine.” (So why is she weeping?)
4. Because you want to help, but you can’t read minds.
5. Because she is in love and that’s cute,
until you find his note asking her to prove it.
6. Because she didn’t prove it.
7. Because next week she is in love again and this time
it’s real, she says her heart is heavy.
8. Because she yearns to take long walks in the park with him.
9. Because you remember the myriad woes and wonders of
spring desire.
10. Because with trepidation and thrill you watch your daughter
who suddenly wants to swing all by herself.