Chasing the Hawk

Praise

“Unblinking honesty is the hallmark of journalist Sheehan’s searing examination of his demons, of his father and of their joint redemption. … Years of repressed knowledge emerge with startling eloquence at unexpected moments … Sheehan’s intense and lyrical writing leads readers to appreciate not only the intricate interdependence in the Sheehan household but also the force of will necessary to break patterns that imprisoned them for decades.”
— Publishers Weekly


Praise for Chasing the Hawk:

“This is a thank-you note to Andrew Sheehan for putting down the glass and taking up the pen to write his story, Chasing the Hawk. Yes, it’s an old story — drink and recovery from drink, loss of faith and recovery of faith. The ingredients are Irish and Catholic — the American variety — but the writing is fresh and clean as a Hail Mary pass.”
— Frank McCourt, Pulitzer Prize—winning author of Angela’s Ashes

“This book is so profound and moving that it would bring tears to a statue. Sheehan is a man who drank and sank and resurfaced to find and finally embrace his distant, dying father. A triumphant love story with victory over alcohol, over anger, over depression, over self. This book is for those who have loved and lost and for those who have loved and won.”
— Malachy McCourt, author of A Monk Swimming

“A smart, tough, beautifully written love story of a father and son, one drunk on fame, the other enraptured by drink. Their missed connections are heartbreaking, their final reunion and forgiveness inspiring.”
— Robert Lipsyte, New York Times columnist and author of In the Country of Illness

“Sheehan has a painful story to tell — about missed connections, fallible parents, the currents of rage and longing that both separate and bind family members — and he tells it beautifully, with grace and insight and unflinching honesty.”
— Caroline Knapp, author of Drinking: A Love Story

“Andrew Sheehan’s Chasing the Hawk is a courageously candid account of a son’s relationship with his father. A uniquely individual story, written with clarity and grace, it is also a moving reflection on the universal struggle to reconcile truth and love. This is a book that should be read by every father, and every son, and every person who wishes to understand how human frailty and failure can be transformed by honesty, forgiveness and hope. It is one of those rare books that will remain with me for the rest of my life.”
— Peter Quinn, author of Banished Children of Eve

“A truly beautiful book … Sheehan has gone straight to the heart of the matter and has written one of the best father/son books ever.”
— Lewis Nordan, author of Boy With Loaded Gun: A Memoir

“Andrew Sheehan’s writing sparkles with the pain and beauty of truth. Chasing the Hawk is a love story that ebbs with gentle complexity before crashing head-long against the rocky shores of fathers and sons.”
— Marc Parent, author of Turning Stones: My Days and Nights With Children at Risk