Okay. I Proudly Admit It. @kwamealexande's WHY FATHERS CRY AT NIGHT Made Me Day-Cry on My Road Trip from CT to Syracuse

It was a decade ago when I was presenting in CNY with Rhiannon Berry and she called me to see if I could pick up a writer she met at the conference and bring him to her school. Hurricane Sandy had travel stopped for a while, I wasn't returning to Stratford any time soon, and I'm always up for an adventure. He was touring with a book called Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band. I showed up at his hotel in a Ford Escort, the only car I could afford after earning my doctorate and saying goodbye to my Explorer. I introduced myself, went to Liverpool High School with him, co-presented, and fell in love with his voice, spirit, purpose, and storytelling. Soon after, I invited him to keynote for a Writing Our Lives conference and also used him for professional development at Hill Central in New Haven. I made sure two hundred copies of the The Crossover were part of the experience with kids and teachers. I read a draft in Word and knew it was special....

the book I always needed in my high school classroom for a wide variety of reasons...

I dowloaded Why Fathers Cry at Night for my road trip back to Syracuse for Lossine's wedding. I should mention that Lossine, Rhiannon, and Abu were all part of that youth conference in Connecticut quite a while ago. In the back of my mind, I was wondering if a story Kwame told me the last time we were together (one about Nikki Giovanni and his mother/her mother) would be in this memoir. He was drafting at the time and perhaps he piloted a variation of the story with me after he did a radio show and we had a drink at his hotel. I was mesmerized by his retelling and even more thrilled to read a variation of it in the book. It's simply an amazing story. 

The trip to Syracuse is typically 4.5 hours. Why Fathers Cry at Night was just under 4 hours, perfect for the milestone this weekend in Syracuse. 

I'm not going to rave about the book as much as I want to here, only because there's a big weekend ahead and I'm simply thrilled this book is out there for fathers....sons....brothers...friends. As Kwame's story has moved forward with its twists and turns (hello, Disney Plus) and my academic career launched from K-12 to higher education, I've kept up with each and every achievement he's made...cheering his success all they way. It's all well deserved

And I didn't know the 'behind the scenes' story. I had guesses, curiosity, and wonders, but that's not the nature of the friendship. I never pried. I simply admired. Perhaps I worried some.

Yes, I'm admiring him more now. I'm not sure what triggered the tears...his relationship to his father....his love for his daughters...the fact that Lossine is marrying this weekend as I was driving home to spend time with my own parents....or the poetry, letters, recipes, and verses. The book simply hit me. It was a special drive home, and Kwame made it that way (once again). There's something beautiful about reflective honesty. It's raw, and when it comes from a King of language, it's simply beautiful.

But now I'm regretting why I never cooked for him on Mt. Pleasant, and why I've yet to have his fried chicken. I'm holding out, because time travels in strange ways. 

Beautiful book. Wonderful honesty. And I'm thankfu Nikki Giovanni giving him that C, and for him resurrecting the possibilities of Pond Life (ribbit ribbit). Surf's up!

I was moved and loved every moment of the experience (so glad to hear his voice, too). Phew.....I'm no Nikki Giovanni, but I know there's more to come. We simply have to wait for more of the magic.