Your Father has Something to Tell You
What kind of shadow does a family secret cast over the child?
Mark Aherne is a middle-aged, married man living in Chicago,
About The Book
Book Shorts
Your Father has Something to Tell You
Mark Aherne is a middle-aged, married man living in Chicago, estranged from his parents due to the bullying from his father that has cast a long shadow over his early life.
He receives a desperate phone call from his sister in Boston, who has cared for their parents for many years. She needs help and Mark soon finds himself back home with his sister dealing with their parents’ loss of independence.
As he cares for his parents, he remembers the past when he lived with his father’s emotional control over him and the family. Slowly coming to understand why his family has been so dysfunctional, he discovers secrets in his parents’ lives leading to their own unhappiness.
In this heartfelt and thought-provoking novel, readers will be taken on a journey of understanding and healing. If you enjoyed the powerful and emotional exploration of family dynamics in “The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls, you’ll also find yourself deeply moved by Mark Aherne’s story of redemption.
đ§What readers say about the book
The pacing of this novel was initially irritating but I kept on reading. By the second chapter, the author's calm approach had begun to become soothing. His style is prototypical engineer: every detail is captured. The important details are emphasized a tiny bit more and with great skill. I can't admire this author enough for his delicacy and composure. Even when telling us about angry secrets, his composure and tact are a delight. No drama is lurking behind every paragraph; there are no italics or unnecessary stress of any emotion. It is just a pleasure to absorb a story rather than have it thrown at you. Understatement and tact are seldom noticeable until they are gone but they are subtly appreciated when present.
Senlin
About The Author
Dave Riese
Dave Riese grew up in Massachusetts and attended Bates College in Maine, majoring in English literature. During his junior year abroad, he studied at Oxford University.
After serving in the Air Force during the Vietnam War, Riese worked at several Boston area financial companies in computer programming for forty years.
Upon retirement in 2012, he had a long talk with himself: âIf you want to publish a book, youâd better take writing seriously.â He subsequently wrote Echo from Mount Royal, a novel about a young womanâs strange courtship in 1951 Montreal.
He recently published his second novel, Your Father Has Something to Tell You, which tells the story of Mark Aherne, a middle-aged, married man, estranged from his parents because of the bullying from his father that has cast a long shadow over his early life.
He and his wife live north of Boston.