A review by natalieba
Don't Cry for Me by Daniel Black

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Even though this book tells you up front NOT to cry, I bawled my eyes out reading this imagined story of what the author’s father might have shared with him about his life to explain his behavior towards him. Black’s father’s slow decline from Alzheimer’s provided him the idea and space to explore what a dying father might write to a son he misunderstood and mistreated most of his life. Is there a way to heal broken relationships through the vulnerability offered by shedding light on a life lived? 

This book made me look at the father/son relationships I’m a witness to and wonder about the way men choose to interact - and how those choices can shape their lives, both the fathers and the sons. 

I can’t recommend this book highly enough, but be sure you have some tissues nearby if you choose to pick you up. It will break your heart, though I’m hoping the author’s heart was healed a bit from writing this beautiful work. 
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