This is a parential memoir. Ron Fournier, the author, is a political columnist for the Atlantic and the National Journal. He began growing his family and started his career in Arkansas. He covered then-Governor Bill Clinton before he moved to Washington in 1993. Fournier reported on politics and the Presidency during the administrations of Clinton, George w> Bush, and Barack Obama. Fournier also also served as a Fellow at Harvard Insitute of Politics where he co-wrote the New York Times bestseller Applebees America. He is four-time winner of the prestigious White House Correspondents' ASsociation Merriman Smith Memorial Award. The author begins this book with an Indroduction which gives readers a flavor of the book. THe first six chapters are grouped under Part One. They are the author's narrative. Part Two include two chapters, each about experiences with Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, respectively. The final chaper is the conclusion and is called "Acceptance." Fournier closes the book with History lessons, tips for parents in parenting. He includes Acknowledgments, a Bibliography, and an Index.
This book has been a fast read. That's because its chapters start out with italicized narratives. The rest of the chapters are part memoir, part musings. This book isn't quite what I expected in its content. The author had appeared on MSNBC to promote this book. He had mentioned his son's Aspgerger's. Because of this, I expected the book to be mainly about autism. I expected it to be about how autism had affected his family, his son and himself. While Fournier integrates hs son's Aspergers/autism into the book, it isn't the focus of the book. The author focuses on his family relationships in general, his expectations of his children and its impact on them. He reflects on the soul-searching he has done in this regard and has made the needed changes to show each of his children his unconditional love for them. His love for and great pride in his only son is reflected in all this book. He calls his son his "teacher" and his "hero." Throughout the book, I found myself feeling a touch of envy for each of his family members especially his three children. I fully agree with him that children should be valued for themselves, not for what they can do for us. It is more important to raise them to be good than to be accomplished. While I'm in a working-class family, for decades we have attended worship services with more middle-class and upper middle-class families. We have observed many parents pushing their offspring to be accomplished. From early childhood, they enroll their children in ballet, tap, and jazz, or voice lessons. They sign their children up for the performing arts or for sports like track, soccer, baseball, basketball, and much more. They expect their children to get A's and B's, or straight A's. Average has become a dirty word and no one wants to be average or raise average children. This must-win, must-succeed mentality has seeped into this 2016 election. We have candidates who are bent, it seems, at winning at all costs. They "adjust" positions on key issues to get votes, say what voters want to hear, and can't admit that they can lose. I know that this is the case in every political race but it seems to be intensifying with this 2016 Presidential race. Are winning and success everything? No. We often forget this and lose perspective when our team or favorite political candidate lose. This book's target audience seems to be solidly middle-class and more affluent parents.
I recommend this book for one certain people group. Ron Fournier seems to target this book to one certain audience. I highly recommend this book for every solidly middle-class and more affluent parent. They need a perspective on what it does to children when we expect too much of them. Poorer families, as the author admits, don't have this issue. They are too busy trying to survive to spend time involving their children in many extracurricular activities. These activities also cost money. This author, being a political columnist and having access to politicians among his other activities, by definition faces the temptations affluent parents face, to expect too much of their children. I recommend this book for anyone interested in politics as this book gives us a different dimension of two former Presidents, former President Bill Clinton and former President George W. Bush.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through BloggingFor Books, in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to give a favorable review of this book.
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