Dreams from my Father

Dreams from my Father by Barack Obama

Great men become greater.

Dreams From My Father is an autobiography written with a beauty of language that could easily be mistaken for fiction of a literary stature. Throughout the three sections — his origins in Hawaii, his life in Chicago and his visit to Kenya — Barack Obama’s reflections shape the book with much intelligence. Dreams from his father… not quite his own dreams and not his father’s dreams either.

It is a book about divisions and parts and exposures to cultures: Hawaiian, American (black and white), African and Asian. And being closely knit with each. It is an understandable whole, a rich personal history.

Barack Obama is born to a white American mother from Kansas and a black Kenyan father. His parents part company soon after the birth of the child. His father returns to Kenya and Barack hardly has him in his life after that. He is brought up by his mother and grandparents in Hawaii. When his mother remarries, mother and son go to live in Indonesia where he is brought up by his Indonesian stepfather. Living and attending school in Indonesia exposes him to a totally different culture and experiences. His mother sends him to America to complete high school.

Soon after, he travels to Kenya, where he gets to know his father and meets his ‘brothers and sisters’ and a horde of aunties and uncles and other relatives. On his return to America, he continues his studies and, after graduating, he goes to Chicago to work in underprivileged black communities before deciding to go to law school at Harvard.

Hawaii, Indonesia, America, and Kenya give texture to his life. His exploration of his identity and understanding, his taste of a varied life of weaknesses and strengths, is written with honesty, sensitivity and openness.

Barack Obama is a great writer and it is not surprising that his oratory reflects a man of conviction, and a man who is comfortable with himself.

We are indeed fortunate to have such a man live amongst us and for us to be in an era where we get to read him, see him, hear him, and experience the changes he hopes to bring about.