Don't Cry for Me : Discussion Thread

[Trisha]

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.

[Trisha]

75 pages

wow, this one is so good so far
(view spoiler)[ I really appreciated the note from the author about his own father in the beginning.
Now for the story - I really like that it's set up in the letter format. It's taking really tough topics and making it just a little easier to read it.
I really like the voice and I'm really curious about the son. We know the father is dying, I wonder how long it will be his letters and if the format will change at some point (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha]

154 pages / about 51%

(view spoiler)[ I'm still really drawn to this story and this history of this father. You can see he feels so bad for his mistakes but that his mistakes horrible affected his son and his life.

the son breaks my heart. we now see why the mom and dad got divorced. I wonder where this goes now
(hide spoiler)]

[Trisha]

226 pages / 75%

(view spoiler)[ these stories are heartbreaking but I like that he says he's trying to be honest. but all the time he lost with his son. the ways he missed knowing him. heartbreaking .I'm glad he talked to his ex wife. I'm blown away to think she pulled him out of his depression. she's given so much to him (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha]

and I'm done

this was so good and so heartbreaking
(view spoiler)[ I'm so sad that he got the news he was dying and never reached out to his son. I'm so sad that he had no idea who he was or how he was as an adult
that he didn't even know if he was sick too, had aids or hiv.

I do like that this is a good reminder that our parents grew up completely different than us. It doesn't excuse horrible actions, like when he beat Isaac up, but is does give it a frame of context. To know the intent behind it EVEN if it's wrong

it was hard not to love this little family and this flawed father, even if I would not have wanted him for my father (hide spoiler)]