Finding Fish Analysis

Finding Fish is a memoir written by Antwone Quenton Fisher in 2001. Fisher is an American director, screenwriter, author and film producer born on August 3, 1959, in a Cleveland, Ohio prison. Fish’s autobiographical book, Finding Fish, was briefly a New York Times Best Seller. Fish wrote Finding Fish to inform people of his own unfortunate, abusive childhood, but also how he was able to make a life for himself later on in life. He also wrote Finding Fish to give troubled children hope that no matter what, life will get better, if you make the change happen. “It was preparing me for stormy weather, arming me with the knowledge that no matter how hard it seemed, it couldn’t rain forever. At some point, I knew, it would come to an end” (Fisher,

There, Fisher discovered his love of language. “Words were my paints, thoughts my palette, paper my canvas, and the world itself my ever-changing subject” (Fisher, 2001, p. 291) With his new appreciation for words, Fisher was able to deal with his pent up anger from his past in a constructive way for a change by writing poetry for fellow sailors to purchase for their loved ones at home. Before his discovery of the power of language, he would continuously get into fights with the other sailors. After leaving the Navy, Fisher was a changed man. He was much less shy, more confident, no longer felt useless and worthless. Consequently, he was able to be independent. With this new sense of self, Fisher was capable of finding multiple, acceptable jobs such as: a federal corrections officer, janitor and security guard at Sony Entertainment Studios. Upon contemplating his origin, Antwone worked to locate distant family members. Coincidentally, the first potential relative he phoned, concluded to be his aunt, Annette, who informed Antwone on his other relatives along with their locations and phone numbers. On a later date, Antwone visited with all of his long-lost relatives as they told him tales of before his time. As fate would have it, a few aunts and uncles actually lived a few blocks from his foster home with the Picketts. Fisher’s uncle Raymond even remember seeing young Antwone walking through the neighborhood. After meeting his newly found family, Antwone realized that the “good part” that he had prayed for many years before had inevitable