AFTER VISITING FRIENDS

After Visiting Friends - A Son's Story by Michael Hainey - At heart, a true mystery.  This book is so good.  It's about a cold case, family secrets, newspapermen, family love, Chicago, and finding truth.  The mystery is what were the circumstances surrounding the death of his father alone in a Chicago street one cold pre-dawn morning?  No one ever talked about it, which made it taboo to talk about, which made it a secret kept by some, from others.  Really tough stuff for a bright, curious child, and even tougher for the newspaperman he became, because that's what newspapermen do....they search and research until they find the truth.  This is a beautifully written true story that becomes an honest homage to the memory of a man who died young.


 Family secrets:  Someone says to the author during his quest 

"I know what it's like to seek the truth from others but not be told it."  

It just so happens that I know this too.  To not know and want to know.  It weakens you as a person.  Are you not important enough to know the truth (secret)?  Are you not intelligent enough to understand the truth (secret)?  Why do they exclude you?  What could it possibly be that it's such a secret?  What is its power that it causes people to lie to protect it?  I can answer that one - it's power is that it's very painful, and by lying, supposedly one can cover the pain.  Who else is in the club of knowing the secret?  Why can't I have the truth?  May I please have the truth?  What is the truth?  

"I know what it's like to seek the truth from others but not be told it."