Overview

Growing up with an abusive stepfather who beat his mother and constantly reminded him that his daddy abandoned him, Chris Gardner made himself a promise: I’ll never leave my children. It’s a vow he kept despite a sea of setbacks that would have broken the spirit of any ordinary man. In this painfully honest—yet hopeful—memoir, we see Gardner go from the highs of landing an apprenticeship at one of Wall Street’s toniest firms to the lows of life after a pink slip left him jobless and unable to pay his rent, from marital bliss to the nadir of being homeless with a baby in tow. Moving from one motel to another and finally to a shelter, Gardner never gave in to despair but chose, instead, to persevere, even when he and his son found themselves sleeping in the bathrooms of the city’s subway system. Parts Finding Fish and The Pact, The Pursuit of Happyness appeals to the very essence of the American Dream—if you work hard and follow your dreams, wealth and happiness will await you.

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9780060744861

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Young-rags-to-mature-riches memoir by broker and motivational speaker Gardner. Born and raised in the Milwaukee ghetto, the author pulled himself up from considerable disadvantage. He was fatherless, and his adored mother wasn't always around; once, as a child, he spied her at a family funeral accompanied by a prison guard. When beautiful, evanescent Moms was there, Chris also had to deal with Freddie I ain't your goddamn daddy! Triplett, one of the meanest stepfathers in recent literature. Chris did the dozens with the homies, boosted a bit and in the course of youthful adventure was raped. His heroes were Miles Davis, James Brown and Muhammad Ali. Meanwhile, at the behest of Moms, he developed a fondness for reading. He joined the Navy and became a medic (preparing badass Marines for proctology), and a proficient lab technician. Moving up in San Francisco, married and then divorced, he sold medical supplies. He was recruited as a trainee at Dean Witter just around the time he became a homeless single father. All his belongings in a shopping cart, Gardner sometimes slept with his young son at the office (apparently undiscovered by the night cleaning crew). The two also frequently bedded down in a public restroom. After Gardner's talents were finally appreciated by the firm of Bear Stearns, his American Dream became real. He got the cool duds, hot car and fine ladies so coveted from afar back in the day. He even had a meeting with Nelson Mandela. Through it all, he remained a prideful parent. His own no-daddy blues are gone now. Well-told and admonitory. (Kirkus Reviews)

Author Information

Chris Gardner is the Chief Executive of Gardner Rich & Company, a multimillion-dollar brokerage with offices in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. An avid philanthropist and motivational speaker, Gardner is committed to many organizations -- particularly those related to education.

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