Customer Reviews

Raising Fences: A Black Man's Love Story (Today Show Book Club #4)

5 star:		(55)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Without a doubt this is the best book I've read in the past 2 years or so. Everything from the characters, to the plot to the writing style was a great gift delivered by the author. His writing is poetic without needlessly waxing poetic. Vibrant words drifting from a very good Queen's English to a very real street Ebonics brought this memoir to life.

Much of Datcher's world is far from mine, but as a black man living in my own skin, I really felt him as he moved in and out of the different situations brothers have to move through just to make it through each day. I like how he showed how some black men hate, how some black me love, how we can carry our fear and can show our courage, and most of all how sometimes we get beat down (physically, psychologically and emotionally from both endogenous and exogenous factors - often at the same time), yet often times manage to get up and carry on.

Thanks for the words Mr. Datcher, but more importantly thanks for the story behind them (for some reason I wanted your wife's book to be a better read than yours - think I just liked her jacket picture better), but I think you edged her out a bit. Hope you pen another piece of prose at some point.

RAISING FENCES is a breathtaking account of one black man's (Michael Datcher) journey from childhood to the remarkable man he is today.

Told with such truth and emotion, RAISING FENCES depicts Mr. Datcher's experience being parented by an adoptive mother, who definately sets a solid foundation for his growth into manhood, and moves through a forest of obstacles that ultimately leads him into lifelong decisions about and for his future.

This book is not only about family, friends, relationships, love and deception...... but also about growth and identity.

Exceptionally written and poetically told, RAISING FENCES is a book for ALL to read so much so, you will be left intoxicated with words of wisdom!

This book was unbelievably refreshing. In fact I was so impressed with the level of honest reflection and emotional depth in Raising Fences that I have discussed it with almost every man I know. Datcher's willingness to let us see inside his soul had provided a context
for Black men and women to discuss the issues that are plagueing our relationships. He gave me hope for Black Love and also set a new standard for communication between the sexes. I may start a book club just to keep talking about how good it is. The icing on the cake is the beauty of the poetry and prose throughout the book. I predict that this is a classic that will keep people coming back again and again. Beyond the love story, we have a basic "coming of age" formula within a battleground of tumultuous experiences that could easily have shaken the foundation of anyone's belief system. Yet, Datcher captures the struggle and creates a jewel for his readers to enjoy. Buy two. Read one and share the other.

Michael Datcher's autobiography deserves to be considered a new classic. His honest assessment of his life parallels with America's open wound- its treatment of African American men. Datcher begins his story the day he receives his birth certificate. He finds his father's information not present on the record, which becomes a strong metaphor for the way in which he chooses to live his life thereafter. He makes huge mistakes, isn't afraid to piss his readers off, and inevitably earns their respect. He discusses his position on unprotected sex, gang life, and abortion to name a few with a fresh and unabashed honesty. As I turn the first pages of the book I root for him to win at something, anything. Not only does he wins, but he wins big. He enrolls in UCLA, obtains his Ma sters Degree, and pens this National Bestseller.

Usually I'm skeptical about book club selections. But I am so wrong in this case. This book is good to the last drop. It is concise and focused. It is a quick read and a good one. Datcher's use of dialogue seals its authenticity. I want to read more of his work.

I recommend this book to every women raising sons, every woman in a relationship with not only black men, but men of all nations, and I recommend this to authors who want to tell their life stories.

Dee Y. Stewart
R.E.A.L. Reviewers

I must admit, I was going on a book buying spree and picked this book up because: 1) the title was intriguing, and 2) the book store had nothing else at that time. It took some time for me to pick up the book, and finally did so on a recent vacation. Once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. Michael Datcher brings so much emotion and reality about growing up fatherless and facing the near-reality of bringing a child into this world, and having her grow up fatherless as well. He tells the story of so many young Black men in America, yet gracefully adds his artistic side (through poetry) to bring the point home. I must say, toward the end of the book, I nearly cried... but had to hold my emotions back because I was on an airplane! This book is a must-read!

I was chapter or two into this book before I realized it was non-fiction. Michael Datcher's style is so vivid and fluid I thought "Raising Fences" was a story he'd spun from his imagination. Once I realized it was a memoir, I was that much more intrigued by his story.

Datcher takes the reader through some of the defining moments in his life. His tale may not be much different than many other men, but he bravely lays himself wide open for his readers in a way that must have been painful but also necessary. His life-long ache for a father, his stuttering speech impediment, his painful spiritual soul-searching (which leads him to join a cult-like religion), and his damaging experience with a dishonest woman are all shared with honesty and grit.

Happily, Datcher's story ends on a high note, and by the time you reach the end of this book you'll want to cry tears of joy for him. Read this book. You won't be disappointed. I admire the hell out of Datcher for having the heart to write this book.

I read this book in a little over a day. Not because it was a fast read, but because I literally couldn't put it down. I read it on my lunch break at work walking down Robertson. Read it in the car on the way home as my husband drove. Tangled in my bedsheets after work on a Friday night, shoes still on. Sprawled on the downstairs couch, having to stop my husband repeatedly to read him this or that passage.

I was completely overtaken. This story is one of the most beautiful and most honest pieces of literature I have ever read. I was laughing and crying and having my roommates giving me strange looks at the "f--ks" and "ooooh nos" I was muttering to the pages.

There are experiences here that I would be inclined, were I the author, to sweep under the rug or paint over with some glossy scenery. Not Michael. He gives you truths you'd be hard up to match, a sense of honesty in his life and in his writing I think we should all aspire to.

This book is intense. Read it twice. Share it with everyone you know.

"The urban ventriloquist" is how Michael Datcher author of Raising Fences refers to his self and others who look like him. Raising Fences is Michael Datchers' memoirs of growing up without a father. The book starts with Michael retrieving his birth certificate from the mailbox hoping for answers to legitimize him as a man. Who is my father, a question that lingers over the heads of many brothers in the neighborhood? What Michael gets instead is a space marked "Father's Full Name" is "Legally Withheld".

Michael's character was not much different from the men we know, what made his story different was his bravery and his personal belief system. He overcame his stuttering and his desire for the white picket fences was beginning to materialize, until he was informed again by a piece of paper that it was a lie. During Michael's search for a father, he found The Church of Christ, his faith grew and his stuttering subsided. The Cult Awareness Network distributed leaflets, to students warning them about the church. Michael was afraid if he left the church God would be mad, so he stayed a while longer.

My favorite part of this poetic probe was Michael never did find his father, what he did find was a community. Within the community was the World Stage Family; from them he got poetry, friends, family and a writing workshop. Michael went on to become a husband, and a published writer of poems and essays.

This book is for everyone, but specifically for all the brothers out there who have had chipmunks chewing at the picket fence. This was an excellent read and I will be giving this as Christmas gifts to my male sibling, with a card from Uncle Remus: Each One Teach One..

Missy, RAW Reviewer

When I first purchased this book, I wondered if the title would live up to its claim - "A Black Man's Love Story". I have always been an avid reader of African American romance novels and all contemporary African American male authors have not disappointed thus far. From E. Jerome Dickey to Colin Channer, I have grown to appreciate the emotional upheaval African American men go through dealing with their loves on a daily basis. I was delighted to find Michael Datcher experiencing a lot of the same things in his life that I have come across in mine. His eloquence in writing about his lack of a relationship with his Father and his desire to be a better husband for his spouse helped me realize my husband deals with a lot of baggage that I bring to our table. I am awed by the love for his wife Mr. Datcher so openly shares with the reader. It sounds like he has found a way to raise his fences. My husband and I continue to raise ours. Thanks for sharing what's in your heart and soul with me.

Michael Datcher tells his life story very good and shows great reality. He shows passion towards a few things also. He discussed things that disappointed him throughout his life. He is very honest in this book, especially about the black culture. Michael had a suspenseful and powerful life. After I read one chapter I would always want to read the next to find out what's next. His story relates to today's generation and is real honest about it. I liked the beginning how he talked about how he dealt with the unwanted children, which related to him. The end then got boring when he talked about Jenoyne, and some things were just too rushed in the book. There was a lot of poetry included in the book. I didn't like them all though. He showed his experience for all the other black men out there and also shows others how it is to be a black man. Woman now see the men's side and what they really want in a woman. This book is inspiring to the African Americans in Africa. If the end wasn't so dull and boring, I think the book would be very good.