{"product_id":"fathers-day-across-america-with-an-unusual-dad-and-his-extraordinary-son-isbn-9780544002289","title":"Father's Day: Across America with an Unusual Dad and His Extraordinary Son","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"Gorgeous and brutally honest . . . As much as this is a book for parents, who know well the crushing vulnerabilities of the job, it is also a story for grown children who understand what it means to love an imperfect parent.\" – \u003cem\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“Blunt, tender, sometimes harrowing, and always affecting, \u003cem\u003eFather’s Day\u003c\/em\u003e is a triumph.” — Susan Orlean, author of \u003cem\u003eRin Tin Tin\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Orchid Thief\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe bestselling author of \u003cem\u003eFriday Night Lights\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThree Nights in August\u003c\/em\u003e travels cross-country on a road trip with his son Zach, whose premature birth left him with a mix of remarkable skills and profound disabilities known as savantism. As father and son journey through the best and worst of America—and the best and worst in each other—Buzz learns to see the world through Zach's eyes. \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBuzz Bissinger’s twins were born three minutes—and a world—apart. Gerry, the older one, is a graduate student preparing to become a teacher. His brother Zach is a savant, challenged by serious intellectual deficits but also blessed with rare talents: an astonishing memory, a dazzling knack for navigation, and a reflexive honesty that can make him both socially awkward and surprisingly wise. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne summer, striving to understand the twenty-four-year-old son who remains, in many ways, a mystery, Buzz convinces Zach to join him on a cross-country road trip. As father and son drive from Philadelphia to Los Angeles, revisiting all the places they have lived together, Buzz learns to see the world through Zach’s eyes. \u003cem\u003eFather's Day \u003c\/em\u003eis a powerful account of this journey, and a universal tale of the bond between parents and children. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e | \u003cp\u003e\"\u003cstrong\u003eBlunt, tender, sometimes harrowing, and always affecting, \u003cem\u003eFather’s Day\u003c\/em\u003e is a triumph.\u003c\/strong\u003e Bissinger unfurls the whole fabric of love and pride and heartbreak and salvation that makes a family, with an honesty that will make you gasp.\"   — \u003cstrong\u003eSusan Orlean\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eRin Tin Tin\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Orchid Thief\u003c\/em\u003e    \"Bissinger has the great writer’s gift of showing us we are not alone. Here he explores the religion all parents share: that our children’s essential goodness will somehow grant them safe passage through a rough world. What a book! \u003cstrong\u003eEvery parent should read it.\u003c\/strong\u003e\"   — \u003cstrong\u003eChris Matthews\u003c\/strong\u003e, host of \u003cem\u003eHardball\u003c\/em\u003e and author of \u003cem\u003eJack Kennedy: Elusive Hero \u003c\/em\u003e  \"I loved this unflinching, heartbreaking, and ultimately triumphant tale of disability and difference, and what it means to be a father, a son, and a man.\"  — \u003cstrong\u003eJennifer Weiner\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eThen Came You \u003c\/em\u003eand \u003cem\u003eFly Away Home\u003c\/em\u003e   \"Buzz Bissinger's memoir — a paean to his remarkable son — is tender, funny, frightening at moments when love is re-stated; even brave — which memoiristic writing rarely gets the chance to be. It also reads as \u003cstrong\u003eunflinchingly true\u003c\/strong\u003e, which should give it a long and useful life in the reader's heart.\"　 — \u003cstrong\u003eRichard Ford\u003c\/strong\u003e   \"\u003cem\u003eFather's Day\u003c\/em\u003e is the story of a road trip like no other. Searing and heartfelt, this is not just an unforgettable portrait of a father and his son; it is \u003cstrong\u003ea love story that speaks to the mystery, pain, and exhilaration of being human.\u003c\/strong\u003e\" — \u003cstrong\u003eNathaniel Philbrick\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eMayflower \u003c\/em\u003eand \u003cem\u003eThe Last Stand\u003c\/em\u003e     \"\u003cstrong\u003eThis brave and beautiful memoir gets at the core of what it means to be a parent\u003c\/strong\u003e — how painful it can be, how scary it can get, and how rewarding it is. By facing a challenge that would try any of us, and beat many of us, Bissinger emerges a better man. He not only finds his son, but himself, and the reader finds something, too. \u003cstrong\u003eAfter reading \u003cem\u003eFathers Day\u003c\/em\u003e, I’ve rethought my assumptions about what makes a successful and worthy life.\u003c\/strong\u003e Ultimately, this is a mesmerizing story about how we can all be better.\"   — \u003cstrong\u003eDavid Sheff\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eBeautiful Boy \u003c\/em\u003e   \"Buzz Bissinger has given completely of himself in this moving book about his son Zach, who was born too small, too soon. There is the father's disappointment and guilt, his confusion and frustration, his wonder and love. That Zach has a twin brother, who grew up unscathed, and that Zach's mind is as divided as his father's emotions, makes the story all that more compelling. \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eFather's Day\u003c\/em\u003e is wonderfully, achingly written, with all the doubt that tells you how truthful it is.\u003c\/strong\u003e\"   — \u003cstrong\u003eFrank Deford\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eThe Old Ball Game\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Entitled\u003c\/em\u003e     \"Every father of a special needs child should read this very insightful book.\"    — \u003cstrong\u003eTemple Grandin\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eThinking in Pictures \u003c\/em\u003eand \u003cem\u003eAnimals in Translation\u003c\/em\u003e      \"A \u003cstrong\u003efiercely honest\u003c\/strong\u003e memoir about the complex hard drive of a son's brain and the balky software of a father's heart. \u003cstrong\u003eThough his story is singular, Bissinger makes it feel like part of that eternal saga\u003c\/strong\u003e — fathers and sons trying to connect.\"   \u003cem\u003e— \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJ.R. Moehringer\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eThe Tender Bar\u003c\/em\u003e  \"Gorgeous and brutally honest . . . As much as this is a book for parents, who know well the crushing vulnerabilities of the job, it is also a story for grown children who understand what it means to love an imperfect parent. Would that we were all as forgiving as Zach.  Grade: A” – \u003cem\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/em\u003e  \"Riveting . . . Impossible to put down.\"  -- \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e  \"Visceral, arresting, and frank.\" -- \u003cem\u003eO Magazine\u003c\/em\u003e   \"A really good book, no matter what its genre, delivers a level of humanity that is both breathtaking and elemental. In \u003cem\u003eFather’s Day,\u003c\/em\u003e Buzz Bissinger has delivered such a work . . . It's every bit as good [as \u003cem\u003eFriday Night Lights\u003c\/em\u003e]. By telling his own story, Bissinger has given voice to parents of special-needs children everywhere. Moreover, he has given everyone a story of hope, humor and humanity.\"  -- \u003cem\u003eHouston Chronicle\u003c\/em\u003e  \"Gorgeous and brutally honest . . . As much as this is a book for parents, who know well the crushing vulnerabilities of the job, it is also a story for grown children who understand what it means to love an imperfect parent. Would that we were all as forgiving as Zach.  Grade: A” – \u003cem\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/em\u003e  “Bissinger may not seem like a likely candidate to pen a tender memoir—but he has.” -- \u003cem\u003ePeople\u003c\/em\u003e  \"A raw, intimate memoir that holds nothing back . . . Achingly tender.\" -- \u003cem\u003eSeattle Times\u003c\/em\u003e  \"A testament to his searing love for his disabled son.\" -- \u003cem\u003eBoston Globe\u003c\/em\u003e  “Bruising yet tender.” – \u003cem\u003eMinneapolis Star-Tribune\u003c\/em\u003e  \"[Bissinger's] greatest accomplishment to date is sharing with the world the inner life of his son Zach  . . . The feel-good moments here are rarely sappy or sentimentalized, and it’s not giving anything away to tell you that there’s no trite happy ending here. What we get instead is something far more beautiful and substantial. We get to know Zach — and ourselves. Every high school in America should add this memoir to its curriculum. Father’s Day implores us not only to open our hearts to the mentally challenged people around us, because that goes without saying. It also asks us to take the time to learn what every living soul has to teach us — even the ones who don’t fully understand their own gifts. In gaining a new appreciation for his son’s unique voice and by sharing it with such intimacy and compassion, Bissinger has done himself, his family, and his readers a tremendous service.\" -- \u003cem\u003ePhiladelphia Inquirer\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e  \"A wrenchingly honest road tale.\"  -- \u003cem\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/em\u003e  \"Moving . . . By being so open about his own struggles as a father, Bissinger turns our eye back toward ourselves, prompting, perhaps, a similar honesty in our own self-reflections. Although its subject matter is vastly different from that of the popular \u003cem\u003eFriday Night Lights\u003c\/em\u003e, readers of that book will note the same keen eye for character and emotion here.\" -- \u003cem\u003eBooklist\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper Perennial","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44889999016165,"sku":"NP9780544002289","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780544002289.jpg?v=1730232347","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/fathers-day-across-america-with-an-unusual-dad-and-his-extraordinary-son-isbn-9780544002289","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}