Synopses & Reviews
A New York Times bestseller, Finding Fish is the remarkable story of an African American boy abandoned in an abusive foster home in Cleveland who rises to liberation, manhood, and extraordinary success (in Hollywood). Born in prison to a single mother after his father was shot and killed, Antwone Fisher soon became a ward of Cleveland's foster care system. By the time he was five years old, he had been transferred to several different families. Eventually he came to live with the Picketts, an older couple with grown children of their own.
During his stay with the Picketts, which lasted until he was 17 years old, Antwone suffered near–constant verbal and physical abuse at the hands of ̩zz Pickett, and sexual abuse from a neighbour. The damage to his self–esteem was tremendous, yet Antwone managed to resist the gang–like behaviour and drug use that so many of his friends were engaged in. Finally he fled and before long he was living on the streets, homeless. Again rescuing himself, he enlisted in the Navy, where he created a ॡmily' for himself and with the help of a Navy psychologist worked through his past. After he left the Navy, while working as a security guard at Sony Pictures in Hollywood, he told his story to one of the executives there, who encouraged him to write his life as a screenplay.
Review
"Finding Fish reads like a great work of fiction, moving me alternately to tears and laughter, sorrow and joy, and making me forget at times that the story is in fact astonishingly true. Antwone Fisher's journey is truly a triumph of the spirit, the story of a boy born into circumstances that few of us could withstand, yet who not only survives, but goes on to remarkable success beyond most of our dreams. In a voice that is authentic and raw, Antwone tells of the power of finding one's voice as an artist and a human being. I hope this book is embraced by readers of every color and age." Denzel Washington
Review
"An unflinching look at the adverse effects foster care can have on a child's life, this stunning autobiography rises above the pack of success fables from survivors of America's inner cities." Publishers Weekly
Review
"[T]his book is a powerful and poetic autobiography as gripping as any novel. Fisher manages to avoid self-pity and anger as he describes in matter-of-fact and moving narrative how a flawed and over-stretched social welfare system almost destroyed a child." VOYA
Synopsis
Antwone Quenton Fisher was raised in institutions from the moment his single mother gave birth to him in prison. As a foster child, he suffered more than a dozen years of emotional abandonment and physical abuse, until he escaped and forged a life on the streets. And just as his life was about to hit rock bottom, Antwone enlisted in the U.S. Navy -- a decision that would ultimately save him. There, he became a man and discovered a loving family he never had. Through it all, Antwone refused to allow his spirit to be broken and never gave up his dreams of a better day.
A miraculous true story of one courageous man's journey from abandonment and abuse to extraordinary success, here is a modern-day, African-American Oliver Twist you will never forget.
About the Author
Antwone Fisher is the author of the
New York Times bestseller
Finding Fish. He is also the screenwriter of the film
Antwone Fisher, based on his life and directed by Academy Award winner Denzel Washington. Fisher lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two daughters.
Mim Eichler Rivas is the author of the acclaimed Beautiful Jim Key, as well as the coauthor of more than eighteen books, including The Pursuit of Happyness and Finding Fish with Antwone Fisher.