A review by geroescribe
Don't Cry for Me by Daniel Black

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I loved this book from beginning to end, and I didn’t expect it to be that way. Through letters, a father dying of cancer expresses everything to his son. From where his way of thinking came from to the regret over some of his decisions throughout the years.

The father’s vulnerability in each letter, something he had never done before, feels very real. His lack of understanding in raising a gay son, who doesn’t do “manly” things, and that internal battle between loving him but not being able to fully accept him.

It made me think that we almost never know how our parents were raised, what their environment and structure were like, and how those shaped them. I finished it on a train and was about to cry at those final words as I was getting off.