The Tender Bar

Although I loved the city of New York more than ever after 9/11, it was sometimes hard to feel optimism and hope about the bigger picture and humanity as a whole in the first several years of the new millennium. This book was one of several things that helped restore my faith, since Moehringer so lovingly portrays the community where he grew up in Long Island—an area profoundly impacted by the attack on the World Trade Center. While I was fact-checking the title, et cetera, I discovered there’s a movie version coming out in early 2022. Obviously I haven’t seen… show more.

While most children from tough backgrounds won't necessarily want to read a book about a bar, J.R. Moehringer is able to get us to do so. Why? Because nothing horrible happens. A fatherless boy who searches for The Voice of his father who was a DJ, young J.R. finds the corner bar to be the best replacement for his voiceless father. This is one memoir that doesn't hurt too much. In fact, it's a testament to the human spirit when people, particularly children, find ways to find love and acceptance outside of the family.