Adapted from the adult memoir by the #1 New York Times bestselling
author of The Water Dancer
and Between the World and Me,
this father-son story explores how boys become men, and quite
specifically, how Ta-Nehisi Coates became Ta-Nehisi Coates.
As a child,
Ta-Nehisi Coates was seen by his father, Paul, as too sensitive and
lacking focus. Paul Coates was a Vietnam vet who'd been part of the
Black Panthers and was dedicated to reading and publishing the
history of African civilization. When it came to his sons, he was
committed to raising proud Black men equipped to deal with a racist
society, during a turbulent period in the collapsing city of
Baltimore where they lived.
Coates details with
candor the challenges of dealing with his tough-love father, the
influence of his mother, and the dynamics of his extended family,
including his brother Big Bill, who was on a very different path than
Ta-Nehisi. Coates also tells of his family struggles at school and
with girls, making this a timely story to which many readers will
relate.