Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama

A Book Review by Joshua Cachapero
Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama is a book about a Young Barack Obama trying to find who he really is, what is his identity, and where did he really come from. The book was first published at 1995 just five years after being the first African American to be elected president of the Harvard Law Review in 1990. During the course of the book Obama faces the trials of coming from a White mother and the absence of a black father. He goes through trials, different cultures, and identity crisis. But at the end of the day he always kept something very important, his roots, no matter where those roots came from.
The book starts of in his young adult years, he is sitting alone in his New York apartment and gets a call from someone he doesn’t know or recognize. The unknown person says to Obama that his father has died in a car accident. Obama doesn’t know how to feel, he never knew his father, so why should he care? His father was a myth more then a father to him so again, why should he care? Obama has seen his father only one time, and after that one time, the memories that Obama had of his father were just stories told from his grandparents and mother. Obama;s parents were divorced in 1964 when Obama was only 2 years old, Obama’s father wanted to get his Ph. D in Harvard but didn’t have the money to take his wife or son with him. Then, Obama’s father moved back to Africa to fulfill a promise he gave to the continent. So, Obama was forced to create a father by listening to stories told by his grandfather. According to Obama’s grandfather, his father got mad easily, but forgave easily. There is a story in which Obama’s father has a pipe he really liked, and when his friend dropped out 90 feet down a hill Obama Sr. demanded his friend to retrieve it. When his friend refused Obama Sr. literally grabbed him and threatened that he would throw him, then soon after invited him for a drink at the bar and shared a couple laughs.
After the stories about his father the book starts to go over how Obama’s grandparents on his mother’s side met. His grandparents were of Cherokee blood and lived very close to each other. His grandmother was nicknamed ‘Toot’ and his grandfather was known as ‘Gramps’ and lived totally different lives. Toot came a very respectable family, in which her parents had steady jobs throughout the depression, but Gramps went kind of wild, he was thrown out of school at the age of 15 for punching his principle in the nose. Although their lives seemed total opposite they were eloped before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, in which he enlisted. Shortly, Obama’s mother is born in a army base where Gramps was serving and headed to California. The family seemed to move a lot finding it hard to live in places due to financial problems, job searching, and racism moving to Kansas and small towns in Texas. Obama’s mother showed a lot of potential in school getting offered to go to the University of Chicago, but Gramps would not let her go due to her young age and his concern of his daughter being on her own. So, instead he took his family back to Hawaii for a job opportunity he got. In Hawaii Obama’s mother brings a guest over named Barack(soon to be husband) over for dinner and after that everything else seemed to go well. They were married and had young Barack was born. Shortly after Barack Sr. leaves without a word and young Barack has been left with a emptiness ever since.
The closest he ever got to a father was a man named Lolo. His mother married again and they made a very big decision on moving in with Lolo in Indonesia. Young Barack learned many things there, he learned how to speak the language in about 6 months, he learned how to fight due to all the fighting there, and he learned not to give money to beggers, it was a like a different world in which Obama had to adapt to. When growing up he moved back to the states to finish school and to start a career. This is the age group in which Obama started to take drugs and party hard. He said that this was in the time of his life where he was having too much fun. So, after that he started to get his act together. At the time he was in Chicago being part of a African American activist group in which he first tested his speaking to public skills. Friends began to notice that Barack was very skilled at talking out in public.
Now, he is growing into a young adult and decides to take a trip to Keya to find out his roots on his father side, trying to find answers on why his father really left him. Now, the book reminds us that Barack’s father recently died and now he is going to Kenya. He goes to Kenya to discover that the Obama name was highly respected in Kenya and he cant believe it. He first figures that out after losing his bag in the Airport. A woman by the name of Miss Omoro recognizes the name Obama and quickly asked if young Barack knew of Mister Obama (his father). Obama said yes and was amazed on how his name was highly respected. The trip was a blessing as he got to go on safaris, long walks, and exploring the beautiful place of Kenya. His favorite part of the trip was listening to stories on how the Obama name came to the tribe of Luo. Apparently, the Obama name came from many warriors, workers, and leaders. Having great success as the generations went on giving Obama a sense of Bliss, finally finding his roots.
The end of the book concludes at his marriage with Michelle Obama. He described the beauty of the reception, the beauty of his family, and the beauty of his wife. Everything came together, he analysis his family on how they are doing and then concluded by honoring the people that are gone by giving a toast, “To those who are not here with us, and to a happy ending.” He then felt like the luckiest man in the world. This book is truly a very good book. As the reader, I can feel the emotions of Barack throughout the book. If you want to know where Barack came from and enjoy a good story this book is an excellent choice. Pick it up.