Dreams from My Father

To describe this poetic book simply as a young man's search for his racial identity is kind of like describing the first moon mission as a really, really long plane ride.

The genius of Senator Barack Obama's candid autobiography, Dreams from My Father (Three Rivers Press; New York; 1995), is that it not only frames out issues of belonging that we all struggle with, like race or background, but also identifies a few we have yet to discover. It is simultaneously personal and archetypal, making it a wonderful and hopeful read for single mothers searching for clues to their identity and role in a society still built around two parent families.

In Senator Obama's quest to understand who he is and where he fits, he asks the same questions many of us are tempted to ask ourselves: What is normal? What is natural? Is there a natural order inherent in the universe and if so, do I fit in or am I an aberration? Without bitterness, without anger, he speaks eloquently to anyone who has ever felt like an outsider on their home turf.

How and when he answers his own questions is far too complex to explain here. Suffice it to say he does an inspiring job of marshaling the various forces that shaped him - including being raised by a single mother - into a victorious personality.

I don't know how quickly I would have gotten around to reading this book if not for the epochal American presidential race taking place right now. Needless to say, I've gained a great deal of hope reading it. And I agree with the comments on the back cover - it reads like a novel.

More importantly for single mothers, the story of Barack Obama is consummate proof that you can and will raise strong, smart, confident children in less than ideal circumstances - children who might even grow up to be leaders of the free world.

Read this book, be inspired, have hope.

Obama For President poster courtesy www.designforobama.org