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A memoir about fatherhood, family, and what it means to be a man in America.
Five years into fatherhood, Calvin Hennick is plagued by self-doubt and full of questions. How can he teach his son to be a man, when his own father figures abandoned him? As a white man, what can he possibly teach his biracial son about how to live as a black man in America? And what does it even mean to be a man today, when society's expectations of men seem to change from moment to moment?
In search of answers, Calvin takes his young son on the road, traveling across the country to the annual rodeo in his small Iowa hometown. Along the way, a stop at the Baseball Hall of Fame turns into an impromptu lesson about racism and segregation. In Niagara Falls, a day of arcade games and go-karts unexpectedly morphs into a titanic struggle between father and son. A stop in Chicago rips the scars off of old wounds. And back in Iowa, Calvin is forced to confront the most difficult question of all: What if his flaws and family history doom him to repeat the mistakes of the past?
In this unforgettable debut memoir, Calvin Hennick holds a mirror up to both himself and modern America, in an urgent and timely story that all parents, and indeed all Americans, need to read.
Winner of Pushcart's 2019 Editor's Book Award.
"Parents will find a great amount of relatable material in Hennick's affecting, often poignant memoir...A tender and engrossing travelogue that fully embodies 'what it means to be a man and a father.'" - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Hennick's touching memoir captures both the fear and fun in raising a son." - Publishers Weekly
"Calvin Hennick's memoir about a road trip with his son hits all the right notes and touches our American nerves — on the subjects of fatherhood, racism, and responsibility. The book is beautifully constructed and very moving. I loved it." - Charles Baxter
"As a father I found myself nodding along with this memoir the whole way. Authentic, compelling, and relatable, Once More to the Rodeo brings the complex themes of fatherhood, identity, and family to life in a unique way. Calvin Hennick, a gifted storyteller, has hit it out of the park with this memoir – truly a fantastic read for fathers and sons alike!" - Sam Kennedy
"In this powerful memoir, Calvin Hennick — a white father trying to prepare his tenderhearted brown son for an often-hostile world — attempts to come to terms with the scars left by his own painful family history. Once More to the Rodeo is a hilarious and deeply moving journey, simultaneously optimistic yet also clear-eyed about the difficulties of fatherhood and race." - Celeste Ng
This information about Once More To The Rodeo was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Calvin Hennick is a business and technology writer based in Boston. He wrote for many years for the Boston Globe and his prize-winning work has appeared in over 50 publications.
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