Kickflip Boys - A Memoir of Freedom, Rebellion, and the Chaos of Fatherhood

"Thompson captures the ache, fizz, yearning and frustration of being the father of adolescent boys." --Michael Chabon "What a riveting, touching, and painful read!" --Maria Semple "Fun, moving, raw, and relatable." --Tony Hawk What makes a good father, and what makes one a failure? Does less-is-more parenting inspire independence and strength, or does it encourage defiance and trouble? Kickflip Boys is the story of a father's struggle to understand his willful skateboarder sons, challengers of authority and convention, to accept his role as a vulnerable "skate dad," and to confront his fears that the boys are destined for an unconventional and potentially fraught future. With searing honesty, Neal Thompson traces his sons' progression through all the stages of skateboarding: splurging on skate shoes and boards, having run-ins with security guards, skipping classes and defying teachers, painting graffiti, drinking and smoking, and more. As the story veers from funny to treacherous and back, from skateparks to the streets, Thompson must confront his complicity and fallibility. He also reflects on his upbringing in rural New Jersey, and his own adventures with skateboards, drugs, danger, and defiance. A story of thrill-seeking teens, of hope and love, freedom and failure, Kickflip Boys reveals a sport and a community that have become a refuge for adolescent boys who don't fit in. Ultimately, it's the survival story of a loving modern American family, of acceptance, forgiveness, and letting go.

Info autore

Neal Thompson is a journalist and author of the critically-acclaimed biography A Curious Man: The Strange & Brilliant Life of Robert "Believe It or Not" Ripley. Thompson's magazine writing has appeared in Esquire, Outside, Men's Health, among other publications. He currently works at Amazon.com, where he oversees their grant program. He lives in Seattle with his family.

Dettagli sul prodotto

• Autori: Neal Thompson, Thompson Neal
• Editore: Ecco Press
• Lingue: Inglese
• Formato: Tascabile
• Pubblicazione: 31.05.2019
• EAN: 9780062394361
• ISBN: 978-0-06-239436-1
• Pagine: 304
• Dimensioni: 135 mm x 203 mm x 17 mm
• Categorie: Narrativa > Romanzi > Epistole, diari; Scienze sociali, diritto, economia > Sociologia > Opere generiche, enciclopedie; Memoirs, Psychology: emotions, Biography: sport, United States of America, USA, Anthologies: general, Teenagers: advice for parents, Relating to adolescence / teenage years, Parenting: advice and issues, Age groups: adolescents, FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS: Parenting / General, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY: Personal Memoirs, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY: Sports, FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS: Life Stages / Teenagers, PSYCHOLOGY: FAMILY COUNSELING, FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS: Alternative Family, LITERATURE: MEMOIR & BIOGRAPHY, FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS: Siblings, Subject matter intended specifically for men and/or boys, Literature / Memoir & Biography, Psychology / Family Counseling