Baby Boy Fisher was raised in institutions from the moment of his birth in prison to a single mother. He ultimately came to live with a foster family, where he endured near-constant verbal and physical abuse. In his mid-teens he escaped and enlisted in the navy, where he became a man of the world, raised by the family he created for himself.
Finding Fish shows how, out of this unlikely mix of deprivation and hope, an artist was born -- first as the child who painted the feelings his words dared not speak, then as a poet and storyteller who would eventually become one of Hollywood's most sought-after screenwriters.
A tumultuous and ultimately gratifying tale of self-discovery written in Fisher's gritty yet melodic literary voice, Finding Fish is an unforgettable reading experience.

Finding Fish: A Memoir

Rivas, Mim E

Fisher, Antwone Q.

Reference

William Morrow Paperbacks

A New York Times bestseller, Finding Fish is the remarkable story of an African American boy abandoned in an abusive foster home in Cleveland who rises to liberation, manhood, and extraordinary success (in Hollywood). 
 Born in prison to a single mother after his father was shot and killed, Antwone Fisher soon became a ward of Cleveland's foster care system. By the time he was five years old, he had been transferred to several different families. Eventually he came to live with the Picketts, an older couple with grown children of their own. 
 During his stay with the Picketts, which lasted until he was 17 years old, Antwone suffered near–constant verbal and physical abuse at the hands of ̩zz Pickett, and sexual abuse from a neighbour. The damage to his self–esteem was tremendous, yet Antwone managed to resist the gang–like behaviour and drug use that so many of his friends were engaged in. Finally he fled and before long he was living on the streets, homeless. Again rescuing himself, he enlisted in the Navy, where he created a ॡmily' for himself and with the help of a Navy psychologist worked through his past. After he left the Navy, while working as a security guard at Sony Pictures in Hollywood, he told his story to one of the executives there, who encouraged him to write his life as a screenplay.

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

With the publication of Finding Fish, his memoir of a childhood spent in foster homes in and around Cleveland, Antwone Fisher shared with the world his story of perseverance, determination, and courage. And he also showed that within him beat the heart of an artist -- a major factor in his resilience and recovery. 
Now with Who Will Cry for the Little Boy?, his first collection of poetry, Antwone Fisher reveals the inner truths that took him from a tumultuous childhood to the man he is today. The powerful poems presented here range from impressions and expressions of Antwone's years growing up to the love that he has gained from the family he made for himself as an adult. 
From the title poem -- which is featured prominently in the movie Antwone Fisher -- a plaintive, haunting tribute to a childhood lost to abuse and neglect, to "Azure Indigo," the uplifting and touching poem about his daughters, many readers will find their own feelings and experiences reflected in this lyrical and passionate collection.

Who Will Cry for the Little Boy?: Poems

Literature & Fiction

Poetry

William Morrow

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY.

Finding Fish (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition)

Teen & Young Adult

Turtleback Books

Soon to be a major motion picture starring and directed by Denzel Washington, Finding Fish is the memoir of Antwone Fisher's miraculous journey from abandonment and abuse to liberation, manhood, and extraordinary success -- a modern-day Oliver Twist.
Baby Boy Fisher -- as he was documented in his child welfare caseworkers' reports -- was raised in institutions from the moment of his birth in prison to a single mother. After beginning his life in an orphanage, Antwone was placed in a temporary foster home until, around age two, he was transferred to a second foster home. It was there, over the next thirteen years, that he endured emotional abandonment and physical abuse. Removed from this foster home not long before his sixteenth birthday, Antwone found fleeting refuge in a boys' reform school but was soon thrust into the nightmare of homelessness.
Though convinced he was unwanted and unworthy, Fish, as he came to be known, refused to allow his spirit to be broken. Instead, he became determined to raise himself, to listen to social workers and teachers who intervened on his behalf, and to nurture a romantic heart along with a scathing sense of humor and a wondrous imagination -- all of which sustained him with big dreams of a better day. Fatefully, just as Antwone's life on the streets hit rock bottom, he enlisted in the United States Navy, where he remained for the next eleven years. During that time, Fish became a man of the world, raised by the Navy family he created for himself.
Finding Fish shows how, out of this unlikely mix of deprivation and hope, an artist was born -- first as the child who painted the feelings his words dared not speak, then as a poet and storyteller who would eventually become one of Hollywood's most well-paid, sought-after screenwriters. But before he ascends those lofty steps, Antwone's story takes us from the Navy to his jobs as a federal correctional officer and then a security guard at Sony Pictures in Hollywood. In its climactic conclusion, the mystery of his identity is finally unraveled as Antwone returns to Cleveland to locate his mother's and father's surviving family members.
A tumultuous and ultimately gratifying tale of self-discovery written in Fisher's gritty yet melodic literary voice, Finding Fish is an unforgettable reading experience.

Born in prison to a single mother, "Fish" manages to resist the calling of drugs and crime on the streets of Cleveland, in a tumultuous real-life tale of self-discovery and personal triumph, which ultimately leads to Hollywood. Read by Alton Fitzgerald White. (Tie-in to December 2002 movie directed by and starring Denzel Washington.) (Biography)

Community & Culture

HarperAudio

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Fisher, Antwone Q.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Fisher, Antwone Q.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Fisher, Antwone Q.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Finding Fish: A Memoir

Finding Fish: A Memoir

Who Will Cry for the Little Boy?: Poems

Finding Fish (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition)

Finding Fish: A Memoir

Finding Fish: A Memoir