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Finding Joe Adams: Overcoming Great Odds A Son Searches For His Father
Joe Field, author
Joe longs to know his father, though he's never adopted. He doesn't even know his dad's name. His birth certificate contains a blank line for father. Overcoming tremendous obstacles, including eviction from public housing projects and hitchhiking cross-country to attend school, Joe perseveres to become a lawyer. And then even that is lost in a few years. A Father's Day prayer in 2016 provides the break Joe is looking for and over 1.1 million people will view on national television the emotional union of a son and 87 year old father meeting for the first time.
Plot/Idea: 6 out of 10
Originality: 5 out of 10
Prose: 6 out of 10
Character/Execution: 6 out of 10
Overall: 5.75 out of 10
Assessment:
Plot: This inspiring memoir is something of a Horatio Alger tale, which includes the author's conversion to Christianity and his quest to find the father who abandoned him and his mother before he was born.
Prose/Style: The book showcases a peppy and self-confident tone, and is reader-friendly in terms of its pacing and structure.
Originality: While not the first rags-to-riches memoir, the author's optimistic and engaging storytelling has an effective appeal.
Character Development/Execution: The author takes a clear-eyed approach to writing about his life challenges and successes as they come his way. The book might benefit from deeper self-reflection on the part of the narrator.
Date Submitted: December 10, 2020
