In this affecting follow-up to The Pact
, Davis, Jenkins and Hunt (“The Three Doctors” as they call themselves) turn from their shared friendship to the more tenuous relationships they shared with their absent fathers. Focusing again on their childhood and youth, they each reflect separately on the effects of growing up fatherless in inner-city Newark, N.J. Whether missing lessons as basic as shaving or tying a necktie or as serious as developing self-confidence, all three conclude that they would have been more prepared for the obstacles they faced growing up if they had had a stable father figure. Instead, they had to turn to the streets for answers, which included distorted views of women and masculinity. The authors offer little new information about growing up without a father. However, some of their suggestions (“find a mentor” and “realize fathering isn't just financial,” for example) do bear repeating, and in the context of these three young men's lives, they gain further relevance. The book includes chapters written by the authors' absentee fathers, who, refreshingly, do not make excuses for their shortcomings but give insights into their failures—including their own lack of a father figure—and provide an understanding that humanizes them and enables their sons to forgive them. (Oct.)
