Non-fiction Spotlight: Family Secrets are Revealed in "After Visiting Friends" by Michael Hainey

Children who lose one or both parents at a young age tend to go on to build successful and sometimes exceptional lives. Entertainer Jackie Gleason, singer Barbra Streisand and former president Bill Clinton are excellent examples. Add to that list author Michael Hainey, whose recently released book, After Visiting Friends (Scribner), details his decades long search for answers about what happened the night his father, Bob Hainey, died in 1970, when Michael was six years old.

Bob Hainey was a successful journalist at the Chicago Sun-Times when he passed away at the age of 36, allegedly from a heart attack. The three obituaries that are presented in After Visiting Friends depict subtle differences of the cause of death and what Bob Hainey was actually doing around the time that he died. His son, Michael, noticed those differences as a child, but would not uncover the truth until many years later when he decided to conduct his own investigation, beginning in 2003. For nearly a decade, Hainey attempted to retrace the events of that fateful night and would interview former friends and associates of his father, family members and search through public records to uncover the truth.

Hainey encounters many obstacles along the way, including red tape, stubborn old friends of his father and learning uncomfortable truths, but he would not allow anything to stop him from receiving the closure he so longed for. In addition to his investigation, Hainey reveals important details about his childhood, his relationship with his mother and grandparents, and how his father's death continues to impact him to this day. Readers who have lost a parent at a young age will likely understand and relate to Hainey's thoughts and feelings, including the hope that his father was actually alive, but had to leave the family for some reason. One day, he might just show up alive and well.

Michael Hainey's journey for answers is filled with surprises and takes many detours before coming full circle. The information he compiles not only allows him to learn the truth about father, but also changes his relationship with his mother, who had to raise Michael and his brother all by herself after Bob died. The Hainey family had secrets, just like every family does, and when they are revealed, those secrets sometimes have unintended consequences, for better or for worse. Regardless of the truth, closure can mean a great deal to those who have been suffering for many years, even if lingering questions about a parent who is long gone can never be fully answered.

Michael Hainey wonders, on more than one occasion, if his father would be proud of him. I suspect the answer to that question is a definite yes. Hainey, a successful journalist himself, had the strength and courage to deal with his demons and the work ethic to conduct a thorough, years long investigation. His efforts yielded significant results that have seemingly made his life better, while allowing readers to have access to his innermost thoughts in this absorbing and interesting mystery.