Why Fathers Cry at Night is Kwame Alexander’s memoir. I should say right off, I should say right off I rarely read memoirs but, when I saw this on Netgalley, I was intrigued by the subtitle, A Memoir in Love Poems, Letters, Recipes, and Remembrances. Using all of these, Alexander reminisces about his efforts to reconnect with his radical dad, his marriage and divorce but mostly about his love for many of the women who have been influences in his life, his mother and his grief when she died, his ex-wife, his daughter and for Nikki Giovanni, his teacher at university and later his friend. This is a fast read but it is also raw, profound, and powerful, one that will stay with the reader, a beautiful book which will, no doubt, be read over and over again, providing new insights with each reading.

Thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown, and Company for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

If I were only able to use one word to describe this book, I would choose "raw." I like the music tidbits with the recipes and the overall feeling of family from this book. overall a very open book about the authors life.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

✨ Review ✨ Why Fathers Cry at Night: A Memoir in Love Poems, Letters, Recipes, and Remembrances by Kwame Alexander

Instead of a straight forward linear memoir, Kwame Alexander muses on his life and the relationships that he's struggled with and that have sustained him through a variety of genres -- poems, letters, recipes, and short reflections. In particular, he considers his relationship with his parents (and his literary mom Nikki Giovanni), his exes, and his daughters.

I really enjoyed the mixed types of media contained within and made it the collection seem to feel more alive. At the same time, there's almost a discomfort around feelings of voyeurism, reading letters to his daughters and loved ones here.

I thought this was a great twist on a type of memoir, reflecting on life and its key moments in a more creative way.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: poetry & memoir
Pub Date: 2023

Thanks to Little, Brown and Company and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

What a great book! I love how raw and honest Kwame is! My favorite part is how he incorporates a variety of writings (poems, recipes, essays, etc). Such a good read!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Why Fathers Cry at Night is a unique and powerful memoir by Kwame Alexander, author of The Crossover. Told through poems, recipes, letters, journal entries and essays, he looks back over his life with the various women he's loved. I found it at times beautiful, funny, and awkward. I think I would've liked it better if I'd listened on audio. Having heard him speak a few years ago, I think that would've made this reading spectacular.

Raw, beautiful, heart-rending ode to love, childhood, and parenthood. It resonated deeply with my experience as a child, wife, and mother.

Why Fathers Cry at Night is a touching and unconventional memoir by Kwame Alexander, delving into the complexities of love through intimate stories of his parents, relationships, and the solace he finds in cherished memories. Filled with heartwarming reminisces, family recipes, love poems, and personal letters, this book inspires bravery and vulnerability as it captures the whirlwind of emotions that define the journey of love.

I love Chef Kwame so I'm not surprised I loved this book. He pours his heart (and his recipes) into every page and I highly recommend!

This is the first book by Kwame Alexander that I have read and it did not disappoint. This is a memoir collection of poems, prose, short essays, and recipes. I loved learning about his family history and the women who shaped him. It was a powerful read and I was in awe at how honest and vulnerable Alexander was and how he expressed his feelings.

Kwame Alexander is an author that will be talked about for centuries to come, or at least I hope that he is. His writing is so profound and captures some of the worst parts of humanity in our current society, but he presents it with hope and inspiration which leaves me feeling hopeful for our future.

This collection of personal essays, poems, and recipes was such an emotional read. Each word read as if it were painted straight from his heart to the page.

I loved this and I can't wait to recommend it to everyone!

From the enlarged letters spelling CRY on the cover of the text to the last words in the book, this memoir, represented thru poems, love letters, recipes, and spellbinding, mind capturing memories takes the reader on a stroll thru many experiences of life lived, some good, bad, misunderstood, and exhilarating. This read captured the very essence of life for me in the descriptions of love and care and disappointment…I turned the page and saw mirrors and windows into lives I’ve lived or am living or hope to live. Reminds me of the biblical decree… physician heal thyself… as I basked in the meaning and resonance of each expression…reading…I found Me. Read this book and you will see you or a version of a life lived. Poignant wording, relatable phrasing, emotions emanating lighting the path to answers that lie only in you.

Why Fathers Cry at Night is definately different from Alexander's other books. Part poetry and part memoir this book is really a love letter to his daughters. And it is beautiful. There is so much emotion in this book. Perfect for anyone who is a father or has/had a father.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced read of Kwame Alexander's memoir, Why Fathers Cry At Night.
I loved this book. Alexander uses poetry, recipes and letters to weave together this beautiful collection of life stories and memories. He addresses the grief of losing his parents, his marriage, and the relationship he once had with his young daughters. I was so moved by his words and found the bit about his children growing up relatable.
I can't recommend this memoir enough.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I love when a memoir is so beautifully written. Kwame Alexander put his talent to pen and heart on paper with new memoir titled Why Fathers Cry at Night: A Memoir in Love Poems, Letters, Recipes, and Remembrances. And yes, he covers everything and beyond what is in the title. It is not your typical memoir written in essay style but more like a peek into his journal, cooking a dish from his recipe book while he shares fond memories and journey to unconditional love.

Why Fathers Cry at Night belongs on your shelf. It is personal. It is vulnerable. It is greatness.

Happy Pub Day, Kwame Alexander! Why Fathers Cry at Night is now available.

Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins. ~LiteraryMarie

This biographical book, told in stories, poems, and recipes, was a heartbreaker. Alexander recalls the grief of two divorces, two children growing up and becoming their own person, and the death of his mother. Through all the melancholy, he manages to sprinkle in the hope of falling in love, knowing his daughters, and finding himself. Not a fast read, it required me to sit in the discomfort and reflect. I recommend.

I don't think I have ever read anything of Kwame Alexander’s that wasn't excellent. This is his 39th book and I have to say I believe it is his best ever. A unique memoir told through his splendid symphonic style. There is prose in the form of stories and letters about his family, his staple poems including haikus and couplets, and some tasty-looking recipes. Also sprinkled in throughout are names of songs, enough to make a great playlist.

This is the most personal I've ever seen Alexander get. It is raw and emotional. It is a memoir in love poems so there is love in all forms- to his relationships (and it gets a tiny bit spicy), to his daughters, to his mother, and to his mentors and profession.

Thank you to Little, Brown, & Co, Kwame Alexander, and Netgalley for the early review copy. I was excited to have received the arc but also waited for Libby so I could listen to the audio because no one reads it quite like Kwame

I’ve read just about everything Kwame Alexander has written since he published The Crossover, winning the 2015 Newbery Award, but as it turns out, he wrote a lot before that too — primarily love poems written for adults. Who knew! In this, his newest publishing tomorrow, he brings his audience back to adults as he presents his memoir written in a lovely variety of formats, including poetry, letters, recipes, and prose.

Like always, Alexander’s poetry floats off the page and begs to be read aloud. The poetry found here, though, made me blush a bit to hear it out loud, as it’s often much sexier than his middle grade or YA selections. As Alexander ponders fatherhood, as well as his relationships with his parents, lovers, and teachers, he is hugely vulnerable and gives the reader an intimate peek into his heart. The writing is beautiful, raw, emotional, and honest, and I was once again in awe of his skill. While I loved the variety of formats, especially the inclusion of recipes that have been important in his life, I did think it made the reading of it as a memoir a bit more challenging. While Alexander’s novels-in-verse are very narrative in nature, these poems are not always as clear, and I found myself confused on how each of the pieces of his life fit together. Is this love poem about his ex-wife or the mother of his second child? Who is the “you” he’s addressing here? His first daughter or second? In a memoir, I expect those pieces to be more obvious, which is perhaps saying more about me as a reader than him as an author. If anything, this work felt more like a piece for him, cathartic and personal in nature, than for the audience who would be reading it, and honestly, that’s just fine. Frankly, I’d read anything he wants to write, regardless of it’s for me or not.

4.5 stars

Kwame is absolutely brilliant. His poetry is honey. This book shines a light on his talents in such a delectable way. I truly enjoyed the poems scattered throughout this memoir and the recipes he so kindly provided for all to enjoy.

I am absolutely convinced we all had the same grandparents and parents. I saw my parents and grandmother so clearly in this book.

To make yourself human to your kids is something I wish my parents had done early on in my childhood. I am profoundly grateful for seeing them as individuals in my mid twenties but I wonder how much grace I would’ve extended earlier in my life had they shown me what Kwame shows to his daughters here.

Kwame’s poetry leaves me feeling fluid. I feel loose in my body like water flowing over rocks. It is an absolute treat to leave a book feeling this good.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review