BECOMING THE KIND FATHER A Son's Journey

Narrator Michael Puttonen expertly delivers every gut punch that the author experienced while growing up with an alcoholic father whose rage was a proxy for love. The audiobook highlights Sandborn's painful youth, during which his father emotionally ruptured his soul, an experience every listener will find unforgettable. Puttonen's performance is also remarkable for the way he projects the internal strife the author felt as a child. Yet Puttonen also conveys the hope that overtook Sandborn when he realized he could be kinder, and far more caring, than his own father. The result is both a depressing and an inspiring book enhanced by a performance that captures every high and low of a childhood from which lesser people might have learned the wrong lessons. D.J.S. 2015 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2015]