Moving beyond the loss of both his father and brother, E. Ethelbert Miller tells the story of how love survived in his family. When Miller was about ten years old, his father told him how he could have left his mother. Years later, now a writer and a father, Miller looks back on that simple remark and how it shaped him. In Fathering Words, Miller explores his development as an African American writer, the responsibility of his chosen career, and his ambitions to raise the consciousness of black people.

Miller's poetry often relies on the voices of women. Here in Fathering Words, he has chosen to write his memoir in two voices -- his sister's voice interspersed with his own. The result is a wonderful duet that tells two stories woven together into one.

Fathering Words is Miller's moving tribute and a powerful memoir.

"From deep within the soul of the accomplished poet that he is Ethelbert Miller has given us a precious gem of a book, a book that will resonate with anyone who has experienced loss but remains determined to a make a new day."
    JONATHAN COLEMAN, AUTHOR OF LONG WAY TO GO: BLACK AND WHITE IN AMERICA