Father's Day: A Journey into the Mind and Heart of My Extraordinary Son

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Father's Day: A Journey into the Mind and Heart of My Extraordinary Son

3.61 of 5 stars 3.61 · rating details · 564 ratings · 144 reviews

A remarkable memoir from the best-selling author of Friday Night Lights and Three Nights in August.

Buzz Bissinger’s twins were born three minutes—and a world—apart. Gerry, the older one, is a graduate student at Penn, preparing to become a teacher. His brother Zach has spent his life attending special schools. He’ll never drive a car, or kiss a girl, or live by himself. He...more

Hardcover, 256 pages

Published May 15th 2012 by Eamon Dolan/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (first published January 1st 2012)

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Jul 08, 2012 Jason rated it 4 of 5 stars

I am a twin. I was the firstborn. I had a brother who was stillborn. I have a disability. My mother didn't know she was carrying two babies, she was misdiagnosed. I was born prematurely which in my opinion is the reason for the disability. I was told by my mother that if my brother had lived his disability would have been a lot more severe than mine is. I lost my mother and father both to cancer, in 1995 and 2001 respectively. I have a sister and two nephews that I love dearly and am crazy for....more

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Aug 02, 2012 Jess rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Buzz Bissinger's twin boys were born 13 weeks early, weighing less than two pounds. One of his sons, Zach, suffers brain damage. As a result, Zach ends up severely mentally impaired. This memoir is about Bissinger's quest to come to grips with who his son is. Bissinger and Zach embark on a cross-country road trip during which father learns much about son and himself. Bissinger's portrayal of his relationship with his son is raw, honest and real. I admired the author's courage in conveying in an...more

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Sep 03, 2012 Linda C rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This memoir was an easy read, yet was a very powerful book. Buzz Bissinger writes eloquently about taking a cross-country trip with his brain-damaged adult son Zach, his overpowering love for this man/child, their often difficult relationship, and his attempt, through the trip, to understand his son better.

Zach and his twin brother, Gerry, were born very prematurely in 1983. While Gerry generally was able to overcome any lingering cognitive birth issues (at the time of the road trip, Gerry is in...more This memoir was an easy read, yet was a very powerful book. Buzz Bissinger writes eloquently about taking a cross-country trip with his brain-damaged adult son Zach, his overpowering love for this man/child, their often difficult relationship, and his attempt, through the trip, to understand his son better.

Zach and his twin brother, Gerry, were born very prematurely in 1983. While Gerry generally was able to overcome any lingering cognitive birth issues (at the time of the road trip, Gerry is in graduate school at U. Penn), Zach was brain damaged due a lack of oxygen at birth. He has savant-like abilities with dates, directions, and personal information; he can meet someone once, but will remember forever their birthday, their address and other personal information. Unfortunately, in other areas of his life, he functions on the level of an 8 year old.

Bissinger, the Pulitzer prize winner author of "Friday Night Lights," is unsparing as he dissects his relationship with his children, his own parents, his failed marriages, his bad choices, as well as looking at his son's life.

Is Bissinger a nice guy? Umm, probably not, at least, he certainly doesn't sound like one, but it is obvious that he loves his son. However, he also doesn't sugarcoat Zach's limitations and the difficulty that he, Bissinger, has with them. His own family was very success driven, and his own self-worth is measured by how successful he is, and then how successful his children will be. Now, he has a child whose success will be measured in much smaller increments-- numbered in days bagging groceries, not in the number of magazine articles, or Pulitzers. However, Bissinger began to see on the trip that Zach is an adult, not a child, and is striving for independence from his family. Although his options are more limited than his brother's, he does have choices and he is trying to exercise them.

Some reviewers stated that Bissinger was cruel to write about his son this way, but I disagree with that. I think he gave a very well-rounded picture of both Zach's abilities and limitations, and he wasn't afraid to say that "this was not the child that he expected or wanted." I don't think that it shows a lack of love to acknowledge that raising a severely disabled child is not what you sign up for. It may be what you have to do, but it can never be what a parent would choose for his/her child. I respect honesty, even if it isn't always pretty.

Another reviewer thought that the writing wasn't very good. Again, I would disagree with that. While everyone is entitled to his/her opinion, Bissinger did win a Pulitzer. On one hand, Goodreads reviewer. On the other, Pulitzer. Hmm, draw your own conclusion.(less)

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Jan 14, 2013 Agatha rated it 3 of 5 stars

Nonfiction. Author’s twin sons were born prematurely in 1983 and, while one is now neurotypical, the second has developmental disabilities which present themselves as a mixed bag of symptoms: low IQ; some savant-type abilities, in calendaring (if you give him a date, he can immediately tell you what day of the week it was) and mapping (he memorizes maps like it’s going out of style); some behavioral autistic tendencies; and more; but they have never really received an absolute diagnosis despite...more

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Oct 19, 2012 Kathleen rated it 2 of 5 stars

Buzz Bissinger certainly can write. Although his background is in newspaper reporting, he does an excellent job in sustaining a far longer narrative. This is the first book of his I have read, although he is rather well-known for Friday Night Lights. I do plan on reading his other books because of the pure pleasure of reading such a good writer.

The book this reminds me the most of, however, is Tuesdays With Morrie. It seems artificial. I don't believe that it took Bissinger 25 years and a cross-...more

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Sep 01, 2012 Mandy rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've never read Friday Night Lights (nor any of his other books) and really only read this because it was a book club pick and also because I read a passage of it that was reprinted in my Penn Alumi magazine.

However, I am really glad I read this. Bissinger was brutally honest - something I greatly respect him for- when discussing his feelings involved toward his brain-damaged son- the guilt he feels, the love, the sadness, the embarrassment, the concern, the over-involvement, the un-involvement,...more

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May 31, 2012 Overrated Parenting rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir

Back in the 1970's Buzz Bissinger, best known for the book Friday Night Lights, watched as his twin boys were born 13.5 weeks early and three minutes and three ounces apart. And although it doesn't seem like it should, those three minutes and three ounces made all the difference to you younger twin, Zach. Because of them, Zach, unlike his brother Gerry, suffered irreparable trace brain damage that have left him mentally retarded, unable to process the abstract, but with a savant's memory, especi...more

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May 24, 2012 Laurie Gold rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir

Buzz Bissinger writes with searing honesty in Father's Day, which ostensibly recounts a road trip taken with his son Zach in 2007. Zach, in his mid-twenties at the time, was born prematurely and with a major oxygen deficiency three minutes after his twin's birth. He suffers from a myriad of mental disabilities and is also a savant when it comes to dates and places. Bissinger suggested the trip as a way to get to know his son, who has an interior life, just one that is inaccessible to those aroun...more Buzz Bissinger writes with searing honesty in Father's Day, which ostensibly recounts a road trip taken with his son Zach in 2007. Zach, in his mid-twenties at the time, was born prematurely and with a major oxygen deficiency three minutes after his twin's birth. He suffers from a myriad of mental disabilities and is also a savant when it comes to dates and places. Bissinger suggested the trip as a way to get to know his son, who has an interior life, just one that is inaccessible to those around him. In an effort to create enthusiasm for the trip, he suggests to his son, none too keen on driving across the country, that rather than visit attractions like the Grand Canyon, they visit cities and towns in which they once lived, and visit old friends and colleagues.

Anyone who parents a child with some sort of learning difference and social challenges will empathize with the author, who readily admits to mistakes he made along the way, and anger and frustration he continues to feel. My heart broke when he wrote about his blue box of test scores, psych analyses, and teacher comments. While most parents have boxes of their kids' art work and report cards, there are many of us with our own blue boxes.

When she heard I was reading this book, a friend told me that a friend of hers had read it and disliked it because the author's behavior toward his son is not always sugar and spice. That may be precisely why I liked it. It's honest. It's gut-wrenching, and when the author dons a hair shirt, it felt authentic to me.

I don't want to give much detail because those who read the book will discover it for themselves. Just know that in addition to the pathos, there's great writing, and, from Zach to his dad, a lesson or two about handling life when you want to explode. Because as much as Bissinger longs to teach his son, he readily accepts his son's lessons, about acceptance, about love, and dignity.

This book is a strong B+; I'm actually wavering with an A-, or DIK grade. What may put it over the top is a conversation the author had with Zach's twin shortly after his college graduation about who might assume responsibility for Zach after the death of their parents. If you read the book, I'd love to hear from you, and if I update the grade, I'll reflect that here.(less)

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Jul 05, 2012 Kristin Strong rated it 4 of 5 stars

I picked this up because I heard the author on NPR and was intrigued by the premise: A writer, Buzz Bissinger, takes his developmentally disabled adult son, Zach, on a cross-country road trip, hoping for an epiphany or at least a few discoveries about the son on the way. Woven into the road-book plot are glimpses of the author's and his family's past, the birth of Zach and his twin brother Gerry (when the three minutes between the boys' exits from the womb and even the way they lay within it mad...more I picked this up because I heard the author on NPR and was intrigued by the premise: A writer, Buzz Bissinger, takes his developmentally disabled adult son, Zach, on a cross-country road trip, hoping for an epiphany or at least a few discoveries about the son on the way. Woven into the road-book plot are glimpses of the author's and his family's past, the birth of Zach and his twin brother Gerry (when the three minutes between the boys' exits from the womb and even the way they lay within it made all the difference in their future prospects), and the inner workings of the author's mind and soul.

Bissinger dearly loves Zach but laments his lack of understanding of his son. He is able to enumerate the many failings of Zach's intellect and the things he's been condemned never to do (marry, live on his own, go to college), but he's less able to see the benefits of the gifts Zach does have -- and the gifts he gives to those he knows. Zach is a savant, a person with limited intellectual capacity who nevertheless possesses astounding abilities in one or more areas. Zach's areas are memory and calendaring. Give Zach a date -- say, April 7, 1982 -- and he can tell you on what day of the week it fell. As to his memory, Bissinger categorizes it less as an ability to retain information than an inability to forget it. The two men travel from Philadelphia to Los Angeles by way of cities and towns where they lived when Zach was younger, and he remembers the time he spent in those places in staggering detail. Cross Zach's path once, and he will ask you several basic questions (where do you live; where do you work; when is your birthday, for example)and never forget your answers. Zach remembers the places his family lived, where they ate and played and went to school, and who their friends were in every place he and his dad visit. He brings out this information in breathless, comma- and period-free bursts of verbiage (Bissinger recorded their interactions on the trip, and writes them down with no punctuation to preserve the spirit of Zach's speech), and constantly surprises his father with what he is able to recall.

The two arrive in Los Angeles with over 3 thousand miles behind them and with Bissinger slightly more at ease with his son than he was when they started. He will never come completely to terms with Zach's birth, his present condition, and his future options, but he has had a few experiences that have shown him that, while Zach may never fit in perfectly among the "Normals", as Bissinger calls them, he can continue to grow and develop, to broaden his horizons beyond the routines he tends to cling to, and to work and play and enjoy his life as much as he possibly can.

Bissinger comes across as something of a -- let's say -- bonehead in the book. But this is because he has chosen to be as honest as he can about his feelings for his children, especially Zach, and even the noblest of human emotions can have a seedy side. I'm a mother of two typically developing children, so I have no firsthand experience of raising a child with special needs, but I have no reason to suspect that Bissinger isn't being totally open when he says that he loves his son, but that his frustration, disillusionment, and personal ambition have often (and still do) overcome his desire to be tender, nurturing, and understanding in his dealings with Zach. Add to this Bissinger's own family history and the gorilla in the room that is his worries about what will become of Zach when Bissinger is no longer around, and you've got a science experiment volcano that's bound to blow from time to time.

As heartbreaking as parts of the book were, I enjoyed the entire thing, partly because the writing was solid, the emotion genuine, and the light moments really funny. But the other part of my enjoyment came from getting to know Zach, just a little, through the eyes of his father, who comes to recognize and admire the strength and honestly that will do a lot to carry Zach through life.(less)

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Jun 06, 2012 Cynthia rated it 2 of 5 stars

This is the kind of book I would normally devour. Unfortunately, I didn't respond that way to this book. While I appreciate how incredibly tough it must be for the author to have a son with significant brain issues (particularly since this son has a "normal" twin brother), the author comes across as terribly self-absorbed and with many, many (self-admitted) issues of his own. The book is ostensibly about the author and son's cross-country drive where they could rediscover old haunts and experien...more

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Apr 07, 2012 Kurt rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fathers, sons, anyone who cares for someone who is Different

Recommended to Kurt by: Amazon Vine

This book is a perfect Father's Day gift: a road trip story of a man trying to bond with his son, while reflecting on his own father, his other significant relationships, and his personal triumphs and failures. It is heartfelt and powerful and a little sappy and a little funny.. and I love it passionately.

The skeleton of Bissinger's book is a road trip that he designs as an opportunity to get to know one of his sons, a young man who suffered brain damage at birth and grew up Different. Zach is a...more This book is a perfect Father's Day gift: a road trip story of a man trying to bond with his son, while reflecting on his own father, his other significant relationships, and his personal triumphs and failures. It is heartfelt and powerful and a little sappy and a little funny.. and I love it passionately.

The skeleton of Bissinger's book is a road trip that he designs as an opportunity to get to know one of his sons, a young man who suffered brain damage at birth and grew up Different. Zach is a complicated person, mentally retarded on certain tests but with an uncanny memory for facts, and Buzz creates an epic journey to revisit places from Zach's history. Buzz acknowledges early in the book that the trip is a selfish one, considering the relational pressures of exhausting days in a minivan together and Zach's strong preference for routine, but he has undeniably unselfish goals as well. The trip turns out to be something beautiful, with the moments of transcendence and disaster that accompany any good long drive, and some fascinating glimpses into a rapidly developing father-son relationship.

One of the surprising strengths of the book is Buzz's relentless honesty. He makes hard admissions about the difficulties of having a son with disabilities, especially a son whose twin brother is Normal. He transcribes conversations where his temper is disturbing or where he doesn't have the right answer to one of Zach's questions or where he isn't doing the Right Thing in a given situation. I found myself angry with Buzz on multiple occasions, as he would build up his hopes for a plan that could only end in catastrophe, only to recognize his error and start to make it again. The honesty, though, really hit me in those moments - Buzz's imperfections and failures helped me understand his perspectives on fatherhood more than a sanitized vacation summary would have.

This is an amazing book, a father's heart poured onto paper with all of its flaws on display. It will encourage anyone who cares for individuals who are Different, and anyone who has ever been a father (or a son) should read it.(less)

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Jun 29, 2012 Rob Cantrall rated it 5 of 5 stars

Great book! It's a memoir of a father and his son with significant mental disabilities due to a difficult/premature birth and the road trip they take together. Probably the most emotionally raw and vulnerable non-fiction I have ever read, as Bissinger exposes both his best and worst.

Reminded me of a few things I should already know as a parent, but need to re-learn with alarming frequency:

- If you do something "for" your kids, it should be something that *they* like, not something you like (and...more

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Jun 11, 2012 Sera rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Sera by: Alison

Shelves: biography-memoir, library

Buzz's journey into the mind and heart of his son actually ends up (like most journeys of discovery) with Buzz examining himself as a father, husband and overall person.

Buzz decides to take his son, Zach, on a road trip to get to know him better. Sounds great, right? Well, the problem is that Zach, at the age of 24, is mentally handicapped and frankly, unable to engage in any type of self-reflection, which makes the journey a bit of a frustrating one for dad. In the end, however, Buzz, is able...more Buzz's journey into the mind and heart of his son actually ends up (like most journeys of discovery) with Buzz examining himself as a father, husband and overall person.

Buzz decides to take his son, Zach, on a road trip to get to know him better. Sounds great, right? Well, the problem is that Zach, at the age of 24, is mentally handicapped and frankly, unable to engage in any type of self-reflection, which makes the journey a bit of a frustrating one for dad. In the end, however, Buzz, is able to gain some insight that improves his relationship with his son. Zach's a good kid who is managing well, so the family is fortunate in many ways, considering how it all started.

Buzz is not as good. I found him to be more of a sympathetic character than Zach, because of the amount of guilt that he carries around with him. Besides Zach, Buzz has faced other severe circumstances regarding his family that would significantly impact the psyche of any person. Yet Buzz's primary issue, in my opinion, is how he makes each negative event in his life relate to his own personal failure somehow. Having been raised with the need to succeed, Buzz has taken this goal to the extreme so that no matter what happens, it's his fault that things didn't turn out right. What a horrible burden this man carries.

Buzz also wrote Friday Night Lights, which is frequently mentioned in the book. Again, what was Buzz's greatest success came at such price for him emotionally, and understandably so, because it provides another example of where again, his quest for success, has a not so positive impact on others close to the project. Buzz's guilt over some of the decisions that he made here carries on to present day, where he continues to try to deal with certain aspects of it.

Overall, I would recommend this book. It's a quick read that gives great insight into the author. I also appreciated the insight that Buzz gave in regard to his son, Zach, who has a great support network around him and will be just fine. (less)

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Jun 14, 2012 LeslieNicoleS rated it 3 of 5 stars

I picked up Father's Day for two reasons:
1) I love Friday Night Lights (Clear Eyes, Full Hearts...anybody?)
2) I love my Dad and he is mutually obsessed with me. Any book exploring the relationship between a father and his child has my attention.

The book didn't disappoint. Bissinger sets up on a cross country road trip with his 20-something son, Zach, who suffered brain damage at birth. Zach is a twin, his brother Gerry is in a post-grad program at UPenn and is everything that a father could ho...more

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Jun 03, 2012 Alyson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Oh, this is a good book. It is a memoir that encapsulates what brain damage can do to those who live with it in their own personal physiology and those who live with and love and care for those who have it. The spectrum is broad. Bissinger has been fiercely honest in his depiction of his own shame and embarrassment, and in his disappointment in his expectations for his son. I understand how this must have been a very difficult yet immensely cathartic book for him to write. His love for Zach brou...more

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Aug 27, 2012 Wanchee Wang rated it 2 of 5 stars

In FATHER'S DAY, bestselling author Buzz Bissinger embarks on a road trip with his adult savant son. Zach was born 13 weeks premature and three minutes after his twin brother. Because of those three minutes, his brain was deprived of oxygen, rendering him borderline mentally disabled (his twin suffered developmental delays but is now a school teacher and leads an independent life). He undertakes this trip in an effort to understand his son, to “crack through the surface into his soul.”

He writes...more In FATHER'S DAY, bestselling author Buzz Bissinger embarks on a road trip with his adult savant son. Zach was born 13 weeks premature and three minutes after his twin brother. Because of those three minutes, his brain was deprived of oxygen, rendering him borderline mentally disabled (his twin suffered developmental delays but is now a school teacher and leads an independent life). He undertakes this trip in an effort to understand his son, to “crack through the surface into his soul.”

He writes with brutal candor about his efforts to come to terms with his son’s condition: “Why sugarcoat it? My son is mentally retarded. Because of three fucking minutes.” One wonders whether it is Bissinger’s very drive for success that made it that much more difficult for him to accept his son’s disabilities. He is the bestselling author of FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, which sold two million copies and was made into a film and an acclaimed TV series; he has won a Pulitzer Prize. Having grown up in a high-achieving family (his maternal grandfather founded Lebenthal & Co., a municipal bond firm) and summered on Nantucket with other successful families, his “…whole life pivoted on success.”

Written with unflinching honesty, the book does not always show Bissinger in a favorable light. He is impatient, easily angered, and curiously lacking in self-control. It is his self-awareness that saves him from being totally unsympathetic: when planning their trip, he wonders whether this plan is “…a selfish one, a classic example of a father forcing his imprint on his son and creating an experience that only becomes memorable because both parties spend a lifetime unsuccessfully trying to forget it.” In the end, he does recognize the limits of a life based on the dogged pursuit of success: “We normally associate success with intellect and riches and status…Up until this trip, that was my own definition.”

It is a revealing read into the heart and mind of a parent of a child with disabilities.
(less)

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Nov 04, 2012 Barbara rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was an emotional journey for me as a reader. The book describes a trip the author took with his disabled son. The purpose was to make a deeper connection, have the time to tell the son some important details. This 20 something year old son was brain damaged at birth, born very prematurely. In the book we see that the author has his own disabilities and his own shortcomings as well as that his son is still growing and and changing and adapting in his world. He has become much more indep...more

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May 19, 2012 Julie rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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May 03, 2012 Kasa Cotugno rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: genre-biography-memoir, themes-disruption, subject-road-trip, themes-family

Buzz Bissinger was blessed with being the father of twins, and some would say cursed since Zack, the younger by 3 minutes, was brain damaged at birth. But these are special people, and despite splitting from his wife shortly after this traumatic event, Bissinger shared fully in his sons' development and lives. When Zack is 25, the two of them go on a trip to visit places they'd lived. Although developmentally challenged, Zack possesses several astounding talents, a gift for navigation being one...more

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Aug 22, 2012 Rosanne rated it 3 of 5 stars

Buzz Bissinger wrote Friday Night Lights. This book is about Buzz's relationship with his adult son Zach. Zach and Gerry are twins born 3 minutes apart. Due to a lack of oxygen at birth, Zach suffered brain damage and has a learning disability. His brother Gerry became a lawyer. Buzz took a road trip with Zach to get to know him better. Zach is a savant and he cuts to the heart of things. Much like Forrest Gump, as you read Buzz's story you realize what is truly important in life. As Buzz consid...more

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Jun 26, 2012 Linda Berger rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

No child arrives with an instruction manual. Mr. Bissinger details the roller coaster life of a father who has a child with special needs. A human and honest account about the world of parenthood. Everyone who has seen, loved, liked, or taught a child should with any kind of differences should read this book. In fact, any parent should.

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Sep 26, 2012 Melinda rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

So in this book, the author's goal is to be as honest as he possibly can be about having a special needs son. I totally respect this, and I'm in no way trying to judge how hard it would be to parent a special needs child. I've never had to do this. BUT...the author is such a self-centered jerk in so many aspects of his life (not just his parenting), that I found it very difficult to keep reading. He forces his son to take a road trip that the son does not want. In the epilogue at the end of the...more

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Aug 24, 2012 Kelly rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography-autobiography, medical, non-fiction

I know that some people who read this book didn't like Bissinger's self absorption, but I felt this is what made the book honest and real. I don't know if I could be as honest as he was in this memoir; I think he is brave to portray himself in a bad light as much as he does. I think anyone with a special needs child must feel what Bissinger does at some point in their lives (maybe not to the extent that he does, but hell, my kids are "normal" and I can empathize with Bissinger's thoughts). I lik...more

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Jul 08, 2012 Craig rated it 1 of 5 stars

A father describes a road trip he takes with his autistic son so that they can become closer. So far so good.

However, I found the author to be way too self-absorbed. And the writing in places is awful. Check out this splat of literary vomitus:

"Las Vegas is tired in the morning, a sequined hooker waking with mascara streaks of black tears and dagger slits in the rising sun in the stretched holes of her fishnets. Like vampires, gamblers see the rising sun and scurry inside the nearest coffee shop...more

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May 30, 2012 Judy rated it 4 of 5 stars

I thought this was an amazing and very honest memoir about a father accepting his son with very special needs. It's interesting that one twin is a college graduate planning on a PhD in education administration while the other ended up challenged by intellectual deficits. The author describes his frustration with school systems that do not want to deal with special needs students and his endless unhappiness attending IEP meetings where so-called experts set totally unrealistic goals for a child t...more

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Jul 31, 2012 Jana rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was a pretty quick read and helped me to learn that I really am not wild about reading on an iPad, but nonetheless it's a great book with a gentle reminder that before we can love others around us we most certainly need to learn to love ourselves- warts and all.

True story describes a father who is certain that if he takes his autistic son with him on a cross-country trip by car that he will be able to get into his head and heart and behind the wall of what seemed to the father to be a rathe...more

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Mar 02, 2013 Suzanne Donald rated it 3 of 5 stars

I so admire Buzz Bissinger’s honesty with his feelings, and his obvious love for his twin boys in his account of father’s day. Zach, born retarded, and three minutes apart from his brother, Gerry―the successful son every parent would want―would lead a very different life. The author, feeling the need to know Zach better plans a journey across America―just the two of them―revisiting places from twenty-four years ago that hold memories for them both.

Many author’s write accounts for the cathartic...more

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Jun 25, 2012 Mrs. Roy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, library-books

This book is a father's brutally honest account of his struggles with his adult son's disabilities and savant abilities, stemming from his birth thirteen weeks prematurely. To make matters more complicated, Zach, his son, has a twin brother, Gerry, who is "Normal," as Bissinger refers to the majority of people. The focal point of the narrative is a cross-country trip Bissinger and Zach take to visit the places they had lived before. Bissinger doesn't hold anything back; there were moments where...more

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Jan 02, 2013 Kristen rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was an excellent book. I would have given it five stars if it didn't have such bad language. It is the story of a cross-country road trip that the author took with his 27 year old mentally disabled son. He planned the trip because he wanted to connect with his son, and get to know him better as a person. This book really touched me. When I finished it, I thought "What a good dad." Yes, he made some mistakes along the way, but through it all, his love for his son was so apparent. And there w...more

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Jul 05, 2012 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

I found this book very moving. Although it's a memoir, it reads like a novel. (That's not a surprise when you realize that the author the successful novelist who wrote "Friday Night Lights").

What I found most interesting and extraordinary was the way Buzz Bissinger lays out his emotions surrounding his son. He exposes it all, even when it's kind of ugly. It's just REAL. You can tell with every page how much he loves his son and wants the best for him, but you also know it's not always easy when...more

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About Buzz Bissinger

Buzz Bissinger is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of four books, including the New York Times bestseller 3 Nights in August and Friday Night Lights, which has sold two million copies and inspired a film and TV franchise. He is a contributing editor for Vanity Fair and a sports columnist for The Daily Beast. He has written for the New York Times, The New Republic, Time and many other...more

More about Buzz Bissinger...

Books by Buzz Bissinger

Three Nights in August: Strategy, Heartbreak, and Joy Inside the Mind of a Manager

After Friday Night Lights: When the Games Ended, Real Life Began. An Unlikely Love Story.

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title link	preview: Father's Day: A Journey into the Mind and Heart of My Extraordinary Son
avg rating	preview: Father's Day: A Journey into the Mind and Heart of My Extraordinary Son Goodreads rating: 3.61 (564 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13429573-father-s-day?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344718869l/13429573.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13429573-father-s-day?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Father's Day: A Journey into the Mind and Heart of My Extraordinary Son by Buzz Bissinger[/url]

Father's Day: A Journey into the Mind and Heart of My Extraordinary Son

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