Antwone Quenton Fisher was raised in institutions from the moment his single mother gave birth to him in prison. As a foster child, he suffered more than a dozen years of emotional abandonment and physical abuse, until he escaped and forged a life on the streets. And just as his life was about to hit rock bottom, Antwone enlisted in the U.S. Navy—a decision that would ultimately save him. There, he became a man and discovered a loving family he never had. Through it all, Antwone refused to allow his spirit to be broken and never gave up his dreams of a better day.
A miraculous true story of one courageous man’s journey from abandonment and abuse to extraordinary success, here is a modern-day, African-American Oliver Twist you will never forget.
Performed by Alton Fitzgerald White.
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"Finding Fish was a book that my social worker MIL had around that she'd had to read for school, and suggested I read it, since I'm also a social work student. It sat around until I had a dry spell between library runs; I wasn't as interested as I wanted to be. Once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. I had a messed up childhood myself, but I could relate to very little of Antwone's experiences (foster care, the 60's and 70's, African American culture, male perspective), but his voice is so strong and honest that it's impossible not to root for him as he builds his own moral compass from scratch and tries to find his way out of his abusive foster home. It's rarely about grotesque, gratuitous abuse (not never, just rarely), and more about a lack of love, support, or belonging. By the time he's out of the house and in the Navy, the book could say "And then he became a millionaire, and married a supermodel, and had five wonderful kids, and was waved by palm leaves and fed grapes all day" and you would keep reading just because the author is so genuine and likable, he deserves happiness and peace and it's truly enjoyable to read about him finding it. I tend to stay interested throughout the central struggle of a book and by the time it gets to the happily ever after, I'm thinking "Yeah, yeah, and then you were happy and blah blah blah, that's great," but this one, if he wrote another book about nothing but his happy life now, I'd read it."
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Brianne (5 out of 5 stars)