This autobiography by Antwone Fisher is the true story that inspired the motion picture "Antwone Fisher," directed by Denzel Washington. It is the chronicle of one small boy metamorphosing into the productivity and significant accomplishments of his manhood.

"Finding Fish" is the in-depth recall of an adult, with appropriate caveats, that has the draconian ins and outs of a good novel of any genre. A recall and 'telling' that propels the reader through the experienced agony and mistreatment initiated by a single mother unable to keep her child.

Yielded into the welfare system by his mother, Antwone suffered twelve years of psychological abandonment and physical abuse by welfare assigned foster parents We are privileged to experience the angst bloom of teenage and puberty, then the transition to productive adulthood.

This book is reading of the best kind. It snags and drags the reader from child to the finished product of a wonderful, productive and useful man and father.

I read this book in about four days and at times I was shocked, horrified and plain angry at how Antwone and his other foster siblings were raised in the Pickett home. People always assume that black men are social deviants, but it was interesting to see that black women can also be just as callus. Mizz Pickett, Willenda and Lizzie were the most horrible human beings that were trusted to take care of children who actually abused them. Mizz Pickett reminded me of Albert so much from the "Color Purple" that it was beyond scarey. Mizz Pickett was phyisically, emotionally and mentally abusive to all of the people in her home and did not mind robbing people of their spirit and dignity. However, Antwone was a fighter and used day dreaming to escape to another world and he always knew that one day he would leave the Picketts home, but not the way it would happen.

I have not see the movie, but instead read the book to get the true essence of what Antwone Fisher experience in his life. I realize the movie is going to be different from the book, but that doesn't matter to me. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would love to read it again and pass it on to others. I have learned so much from Antwone and his life.

This was a great book! I rushed home every day to try to finish it for my book club. It kept me on the edge of my seat. I was always reading to find out what would happen to Awtwone next. I wanted all of his pain and suffering to be over. I knew that he was going to become something great from seeing the previews of the movie, but the book goes into greater detail of his struggle to achieve success. You also get a real sense of who Antwone is on a more personal level and marvel a him as a man.

Antwone Quenton Fisher was raised in foster homes ever since his birth in prison to a single mother. His father was shot and killed shortly before he was born in 1959. Fisher went to live with the Pickett family in Glenville, Ohio and that's when his horrible new life begins.

When he came to live with the new family he started to experience constant mental and physical abuse from both Reverend and Mrs. Pickett because of the things he was accused of doing, but didn't really do. He was allowed and got to see his biological mother sometimes as caseworkers analyze their relationship together. Fisher and Dwight, his foster brother, did not get along very well and they were constantly getting into fights.

After a long eleven and one half years, Mrs. Pickett sent Fisher back to child welfare because she was sick of his so-called negative behaviors. He then went to live at George Junior Republic, an all male reform school. While in reform school Antwone decided that he wanted to become either a photographer or an artist. When Antwone turned nineteen he enlisted in the Navy. There he excelled because of the strict rules he had to follow while living with Mrs. Pickett.

This book inspired me because even though it's an incredibly sad story, Fisher somehow survives all the torment. It seems amazing to me that he thinks of himself as fortunate and can see the good in people after being abused by so many. This intense story shows that you can overcome many difficult obstacles and still have a positive attitude.

This memoir took me through a lot of emotions as I read it over the course of three days. I appreciated my upbringing much more at the end of the book and I was hardly given a bed of roses. I am disheartened at the reviewers who didnt like this book because they felt as if Fisher didnt endure as much as many other children in the foster care system. That's exactly what made the book so compelling. Mental abuse over a long period of time can be just as devastating as physical abuse. Yes, there are kids who turn out worse or who may have had it harder bouncing from place to place but Antwone's story is incredible. He was broken down mentally and spiritually but he still endured. His story is simple but it's so powerful at the same time. Immediately after finishing his memoir I knew right away that it is a book that I would recommend to the young men in my mentor program. This insightful book is a great read, especially for young black men living in 2002 who think that the world owes them something. I am truly inspired by Antwone Fisher's work.

Mister Mann Frisby
Author of "Blinking Red Light"

Antwone Fisher bares his soul and in many ways the soul of a generation of people who grew up in foster homes in this wonderful book. In reading his story, people like me, who grew up with two parents in a loving home should be on their knees thanking God or who ever they believe in for their blessing. Having grown up in the same area of Cleveland as Fish, I relished in the memories of the old neighbor. But I also remember children talking at school about somebody being a "welfare child". I remember knowing children who were pushed from pillar to post. But until you read Fish's story you can't imagine what life was really like for him and thousands of other children growing up in foster homes.

I'm sure that there are loving and caring foster homes but many are not. The State does the best that they can, but it's a tough life. And the saddest part is the fact that at age 18 many of these children are left family-less and homeless just like Fish.

If there was one sin that Fish's mother committed it was her negligence in connecting him in some way with his father's family. I'm sure that she had her reasons, but it certainly would have changed his life.

This is really a "page turner" as one of the other reviewers commented. It's not an easy book to read and there were parts that almost brought tears to my eyes. But it's a side of life that exist.

I'd recommend this book to middle and upper class childen who complain about their miserable blight in life. Let them walk a mile in Fish's shoes and maybe they'll change their tune.