Book Reveiw: Dreams from My Father

The Audacity of a Dreamer

Stars: 4/5

Dreams from My Father chronicles Barack Obama's journey as he struggles to find an equitable balance in multiple facets of his life. Barack, the product of a white mother and a Kenyan father, attempts to define his racial identity, his faith and his calling. What is also missing in his life is his father, Barack Sr. During the formidable years of maturation when a father figure is integral, Barack relies on his maternal grandfather to fill that void. Barack Sr. dies when Barack is 21 years old, leaving him with just one memory of ever meeting his father.

The book is segmented into three parts: Origins, Chicago, and Kenya. In Origins, after having spent several years in Indonesia with his mother, his mother's second husband and his half-sister, Barack returns to Hawaii and is raised by his maternal grandparents. At one critical juncture, Barack decides to turn to reading and absorbing literature from noted African-American authors such as James Baldwin, W.E.B. Du Bois, Malcolm X (autobiography of), Ralph Ellison, Langston Hughes and Richard Wright. In Chicago, we watch Barack as a community organizer navigate the ills of the South Side of Chicago. Here, we also find Barack resolve his issues around faith, joining Rev. Jeremiah Wright's Trinity United Church of Christ. In the final segment, Kenya, Barack ends his quest with a pilgrimage to the birthplace of his father. Through the historical context provided by his Kenyan family, Barack is able to achieve closure and finally add a dose of reality to the Dream, the man, his father.


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