Preview
  • Dear Father, Dear Son

  • Two Lives…Eight Hours
  • By: Larry Elder
  • Narrated by: Neal Ghant
  • Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
  • 4.9 out of 5 stars (1,082 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Dear Father, Dear Son

By: Larry Elder
Narrated by: Neal Ghant
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $19.95

Buy for $19.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Stunning...a wonderful listen...a handbook for life. Those words of advance praise from another celebrated author scarcely convey just how powerfully mesmerizing is the latest book by New York Times best-selling author and nationally syndicated radio talk show host Larry Elder.

Dear Father, Dear Son is a personal memoir of Elder's troubled - one might even say tortured - relationship with his father, and the astonishing outcome that develops when Elder, at long last, confronts him.

Says Elder: A man's relationship with his father - every boy, every man lucky enough to have a father in his life has to figure that out. My own father? I thought I knew him - even though he seldom talked about himself. And what I knew I hated - really, really hated. Cold, ill-tempered, thin-skinned, my father always seemed on the brink of erupting. Scared to death of him, I kept telling myself to find the courage to "stand up to him". When I was 15, I did. After that, said Elder, we did not speak to each other for 10 years.

And then we did - for eight hours. The result can't be described. It has to be experienced.

As reflected in the book's subtitle - Two Lives...Eight Hours - one extraordinary, all-day conversation between Elder and his long-estranged father utterly transformed their relationship. It is no exaggeration to say the book will likewise transform listeners.

Indeed, calling it stunning, Burt Boyar, co-author of the best-selling autobiography on Sammy Davis, Jr., says of Dear Father, Dear Son: "Above all it is a wonderful read. I am tempted to call it a page-turner but in my case I hated to turn every page because that meant I was getting closer to the end and I did not want it to end.... The book is filled with emotion. It is, of course, a handbook for life. I guess it is that above all things. Any kid who reads it and follows the advice of how to live his life just has to come out well."

Dear Father, Dear Son is the story of one man discovering a son he never really knew. And of the son finding a man, a friend, a father who had really been there all along.

©2012 Larry Elder (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Dear Father, Dear Son

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    985
  • 4 Stars
    79
  • 3 Stars
    12
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    877
  • 4 Stars
    87
  • 3 Stars
    13
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    909
  • 4 Stars
    58
  • 3 Stars
    13
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

What lovely memories

Oh Larry - this journey of yours was so amazing. Thank you for sharing it with us. I remember listening to your shows everyday and especially the Chief Justice on Fridays. Since those days I've become an Elderada and listen religiously! You are so smart and so engaging! Thank you for being you!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Well Worth It.

This book is very inspiring that we should take time to ask our fathers and mothers of who they were before becoming parents. My father always told me you can't learn from history from a book but to those that lived it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

movie

I think this could be a decent movie. a made for TV or straight to streaming at least.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Tremendous.

Great. Inspiring. Far too short.
I have been a listener of Mr. Elder's.
I'm very sorry to have missed hearing his mother's input on his show.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

This is why Larry's a good man!

I was hoping to hear it from Mr. Elder himself, but I'm glad I heard it at all. Thank you. Beautiful book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

must read for millenials

As a minority, this book gives both the context of Jim Crow laws and the determination of one man to rise and surpass it. The book is highly reminiscent of Victor Frankel's Man's Search for Meaning in a weird way. At the same time, highlights the father's role in shaping a child's life.

The style of narrative is also unbelievably well done. strongly recommend the book to millennials for a more practical solution to some of the perceived social issues.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of the best books I've ever read.

This book is full of wisdom, common sense, and simplicity. The narration performance as one of the best. Highly recommend

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Deserves more than 5 stars

I couldn’t quit listening. I’ve followed Larry Elder for a while now, but to hear how he grew up was interesting and educational for me. What I love most is how his parents, especially his dad, though they faced unfairness and true racism in life, did not let that stop them from succeeding and instilling great values in their children, all without being bitter or hateful. Also, just as important, I applaud Larry for giving his dad a chance (much grace), and that because of that, what used to be nothing but awful memories and a nonexistent relationship, blossomed into a sweet and endearing alliance. The narrator was the best I’ve ever listened to! I would give more than 5 stars if I could.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent!

Excellent book on love and forgiveness! Larry Elder demonstrates a more successful way to look at the other side of things. This is a great parental book!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wow !!

What a powerful and important book, full of riches. This one is a keeper.
Thank you Larry Elder!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!