I Am My Father's Son: A Memoir Of Love And Forgiveness Between Tw

by Dan Hill

In this poignant, moving memoir, one of Canada’s most respected singer-songwriters traces his difficult, often tumultuous relationship with his father. From the time Dan Hill picked up a guitar at age 11, he tried to win the approval of Daniel Hill Sr., a man who has been called Canada’s father of human rights. But Hill Sr. set impossibly high standards for himself and his family, especially for his eldest son, leading to conflict and alienation even as young Dan achieved international fame.

Through vivid family stories, letters, memories and his own awardwinning lyrics, Dan Hill tells the story of two parallel lives—his father’s in mid-20th-century America and his own as a young Black man coming of age in suburban Canada—and the stormy but ultimately loving way each of those lives affected the other.

Genres: Memoir

408 pages, Hardcover

First published January 26, 2009

Reviews

[David Bebelaar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I touching account of the relationship between Father and Son, the closeness, the disagreements and the respect.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dan Hill is an award winning Canadian singer-songwriter ("Sometimes When We Touch"); his father is Daniel G. Hill, a human rights specialist who was awarded the Order of Canada; and his brother is Lawrence Hill, awared winning Canadian novelist ("The Book of Negroes" a.k.a. "Someone Knows My Name").

It was incredibly interesting to read about this father-son relationship and to read about events that later featured in his brother's writing.

[Maria Stevenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really readable, and quite well-written. Doesn't bother with minute details that would only appeal to music geeks, but (fittingly I guess, given THAT SONG that Hill wrote) rather explores and lays bare the complex emotions of Hill's closest relationships. Almost never self-aggrandizing. Often laugh out loud funny. And of course an ode to his father and his entire remarkable Hill household he was born into.
I found this book quite by chance and am very pleased with the experience of reading it. Also a bit of a trip down memory lane to the 70s when I was a youngster even younger than Hill.

[Laurie W · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a super-fan in the 1970s because my boyfriend knew Dan Hill - went to school with him in Don Mills - so I was really looking forward to the book. I enjoyed knowing about what happened in his life and career after I stopped paying attention. But I couldn’t shake the same feeling that I used to get going to his concerts: that he is a bit too “full of himself”. Nonetheless his story and his relationship with his father and his family are interesting, and his writing had a ring of authenticity to it. Glad I read it.

[Wendell Hennan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I attended a book reading at Westminster Books in Fredericton and bought and read this book when it was first published. I enjoyed it then but this time through, I realized how little of the Hill's family story I had retained, particularly the mental health challenges of Dan's mother, her twin sister, and Dan's sister. A powerfully written account of being the son of a black atheist and a white mother, gifted with incredible musical talent which went unappreciated by his father, whose admiration, Dan craved his entire life.

[Susan Simms · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dan Hill is a well-known Canadian songwriter and performer. This is his story.

Dan grew up in suburban Toronto in the 1960s. His father, Dr. Hill was the first Ontario Human Rights Commissioner. He was black and his wife was white. Racism in Canada was not as 'up front and in your face' as the United States but was still widespread. It was more a 'sneaky' type of racism that Dan encountered, including teachers who didn't like him because of his colour.

Dr. Hill was larger than life and having experienced racism was the perfect choice for commissioner. Dr. Hill was bombastic and extremely ambitious. His expectations were very high especially for his first born son. Dan had to excel in school. Although his grades were good, Dan's interests and personality ran contrary to his father's.

The tension and unrest in the Hill household was constant during Dan's teens. Dan loved music and writing songs was in his blood. His father let him know incessantly what a disappointment he was. His father was mean and constantly critical. Dan, however, has his father's ambition and strove to achieve success in the music industry and gain his father's approval finally. Dan's successes and setbacks are chronicled. His mistakes and his highlights are boldly stated.

This story tells about both Dan's life and Dr. Hill's life. It is a very well-written story about the relationship between father and son. It is also a tale of forgiveness. This book makes the reader look at their own relationship with their parents questioning what impact their parents had and what impact they have on their own children

On a personal note, my brother was friends with Dan during high school. As an older sister I did not pay too much attention to his friends. Shame on me! The details of the neighbourhood brought back a lot of memories.

[Johanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was three quarters of the way through the book before I realized this is the brother of Lawrence Hill (who he refers to as Larry in the book) who wrote The Book of Negroes. I am not familiar with Dan Hill's music and read the book because it was recommended as a "good" memoir. Coming on the heels of The Good Daughter, I found this book tedious and boring at times. There was a lot of music talk about the mechanics of songwriting and details of his career that I just couldn't get into. What I could get into was the relationship with his father who was such a large and overpowering figure, literally and figuratively, that his mother all but disappears in these pages. The parts of the book that deal with his struggle to come to terms with his father, and those parts about his father and the larger family, were well written and interesting. That impact was taken away for me by his summing up some of his profound emotions and experiences with what I considered sometimes trite lyrics of his songs. I'm glad I read it and was enlightened about growing up mixed race in Toronto but that's about it.

[Neil Mudde · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hope the story improves,well I have just completed reading this, and since it was too close for comfort with the relationship I had with my Father, which verged on abuse, for which today a parent could be charged.
The outline states that this book bursts with pain, and humour, all I could feel was pure abuse of a creative human being always trying to live up to the expectations of a dictator father, and no matter what unable to ever reach this goal, as the bar would always be moved higher. very sad and painful.
The triumph is the fact that in spite of this Dan Hill survived, not only survived but is making a major contribution to society with his great writing ability in bookform, and certainly in his creation of amazing lyrics, and sweet music. Many years ago I worked at a rehab centre at which Dan performed early in his career, and sang "Sometimes when we touch" to date this is still one of my top favorite songs.looking forward to Dan's next book.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for anyone interested in Music Biz, Adult Child issues or human interest.

Dan Hill's dad was the first ever commissioner of the Human Rights Tribunal in Ontario Canada. He was a powerhouse of a personality who moved to Canada because he and his wife (mixed-race marriage) could find no peace in the USA. Dan Hill Sr. is reported by Dan Hill (author) to have written to his father, an American preacher, to say, "The prejudiced in Canada is much politer than I have experienced anywhere in the USA."

Hill Sr. thrived in his career but whose "Bull in a China Shop" edge lacked a je ne sait quoi when it came to nurturing his sensitive-artist son. Dan Hill is an award-winning songwriter and he's proven himself an equal threat on the memoir front. Every chapter is a hit song that I could totally relate to the same way certain songs rach me.

[Kirk Macleod · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I loved best about Canadian singer/songwriter Hill's memoir was simply how well he showed his evolving relationship with his father throughout his life, looking at it from the perspective of an older man reevaluating his childhood, youth and early adult years.

The book was fascinating, definitely worth the read.

[Pilar Cuder]

I found this memoir really interesting, and better written than I expected.

[Champ T. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Autobiography of a cheesy 70s CDN singer

[Leila · Rating 1 out of 5]

So if you read an autobiography and the author repeatedly tells the reader how good of a liar he is, just how much of the memoir should the reader believe?
His childhood memories are seemingly far-fetched.
It was depressing to read his famous life story and hear how unhappy he was throughout it.
His dad was a big, dumb jerk. Yep, that's my technical term for it.
Seriously, look at the pictures and then put the book back on the shelf. Heck, turn the book around (so the binding is hidden) so other library or store patrons won't waste their time in its pages.