Traces the author's investigation into the mystery of his father's sudden death, describing his father's achievements as a reporter, inconsistencies in his father's medical records, and the honor code of secrecy that challenged his research.
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This haunting story of a son's quest to understand the mystery of his father's death is 'searing and unforgettable'memoir writing at its best' (San Francisco Chronicle)'a 'powerfully affecting' (O, The Oprah Magazine) portrait of a family and its legacy of secrets.'Family? Secrets? Sometimes I think they are the same thing.' So writes Michael Hainey in this unforgettable story of a son's search to discover the decades-old truth about his father's mysterious death. Hainey was a boy of six when his father, a bright and shining star in the glamorous, hard-living world of 1960s Chicago newspapers, died under mysterious circumstances. His tragic absence left behind not only a young widow and two small sons but questions about family and truth that would obsess Michael for decades. Years later, Michael undertakes a risky journey to uncover the true story about what happened to his father. Prodding reluctant relatives and working through a network of his father's old colleagues, Michael begins to reconcile the father he lost with the one he comes to know. At the heart of his quest is his mother, a woman of courage and tenacity'and a steely determination to press on with her life. A universal story of love and loss and the resilience of family in the face of hardship, After Visiting Friends is the account of a son who goes searching for his father, and in the journey discovers new love and admiration for his mother.
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