Publisher's Weekly Review
Freelance journalist Hennick delivers a moving debut memoir detailing a 10-day road trip he took with his five-year-old son Nile from their home outside Boston to the annual rodeo in Hennick's "tiny hometown" of Maxwell, Iowa. He endearingly captures the father-son experiences they shared along the way, such as a visit to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., where Nile saw his first baseball game; eating Chinese takeout in a Motel 6 ("Why did they put gooey carrots in here, too?" his son asks); and playing with Hennick's old friend's kids at the rodeo. Hennick's thoughts are influenced by recollections of his relationship with his father ("a cancer and a toxin"), as well concerns about the life his biracial son will have in America (Hennick is white; his wife is black). Throughout, Hennick ruminates on the nature of fatherhood and how to teach his son "some sort of Cosmic Answers about Manhood" and "to contemplate what it means to be a man, and what it means to raise one." By trip's end, he realizes that his biggest fear had been "turning into my dad," and he is satisfied in his efforts to make Nile's trip "the most fun anyone's ever had." Hennick's touching memoir captures both the fear and fun in raising a son. (Dec.)
Kirkus Review
A father-son soul-searching expedition forms the heart of Boston-based writer Hennick's moving memoir.Nile was just 5 when his father decided to take him on a road trip to create lasting, significant memories. The firstborn son of the author, who is white, and his Haitian wife, Belzie, a middle school teacher, Nile had progressed from a tantrum-filled toddlerhood into a "sensitive, big-hearted kid, quick to fall in love with new people and places." Together, they set out from Massachusetts on a 10-day road trip with "impossibly high" expectations, and they hoped to end up at the annual two-night rodeo in Hennick's hometown of Maxwell, Iowa, a place he hadn't visited since his teenage years. The trip was a fascinating exercise in parental patience for the author, who was chronically challenged with weight issues and excessive drinking. The narrative progresses day to day as Hennick effectively incorporates his adventures with Nile with personal anecdotes about the author's relationship with Belzie, his experiences as a father, and his own family history ("divorce is the organizing principle"). Along the way, father and son grew closer through stirring and educational conversations about the racial politics of skin color and baseball history in Cooperstown, New York, as well as challenging swimming lessons. After reuniting with Belzie and his daughter, "Peanut," in Chicago, they made it to Iowa; at this point, Hennick painfully lingers over the impact of his lackluster relationship with his errant, indifferent father. Still, he was able to maintain a cleareyed resolve. "I want to be for my children the father I never had: present, sober, responsible, hard-working, competent, loving, organized, attentive." Parents will find a great amount of relatable material in Hennick's affecting, often poignant memoir. "One day," he writes, "all that will be left of me is what my children remember."A tender and engrossing travelogue that fully embodies "what it means to be a man and a father." Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
A road trip with his young son forces a man to confront fears about parenthood and unresolved issues with his own father. It's the summer of 2016, and Hennick and five-year-old Nile intend to drive a rented black Toyota from Boston to Hennick's hometown in Iowa. Their stated goal is to have the most fun anybody's ever had, so they stop in Cooperstown and Niagara Falls, swim in motel pools, and eat lots of junk food. But the kid gets moody and homesick, and his father is beset by self-doubt about how to adequately prepare Nile (who is biracial) for a world that is frequently racist and cruel, and maybe getting worse. As they head into the cornfields and manure-smells of the Midwest, growing ever-closer to Hennick's dysfunctional family, Hennick agonizes over how much of his own brokenness he can reveal to his child. He considers taking a break from his hard-won sobriety; it would surely be easier than being a perfect father, or confronting his past. Raw, wry, and perceptive, Hennick's memoir overflows with anxious love.--Brendan Driscoll Copyright 2019 Booklist