Denise Dennis

Becoming His Father's Son Denise Dennis

Set in Philadelphia and revolving around a suspenseful legal case, the novel Becoming His Father's Son tells the story of Alex Hamilton's redemption. A successful, Ivy League-educated, African American attorney, Alex feels superior to other African Americans. In fact, he has achieved his success by winning racial discrimination cases--using questionable tactics--for wealthy, corporate clients. In stark contract to Alex, his physician father, "Dr. Nate" Hamilton, has been practicing medicine in the inner city for thirty years, often giving free treatment to patients who cannot afford to pay. Dr. Nate, the son of a sharecropper, grew up poor in Alabama and worked his way through college and medical school, unlike Alex who has lived a life of privilege. Alex and Nate haven't spoken to each other in years, a situation that grieves Alex's mother, May Hamilton. When Dr. Nate is accused of Medicare fraud and stands to lose everything he has worked for, he turns to his son for help. Alex makes a critical choice to defend his father; a decision based on love--and it irrevocably changes his life. His law partners scheme to maneuver him out of the firm when they learn of his father's indictment; and Alex begins to question all his former assumptions. As they work on the defense case, Nate reveals to Alex family secrets he had until then kept to himself, and father and son achieve a new understanding. The story ends with a suspenseful courtroom trial--the trial of Alex's life--and a surprise twist at the conclusion. A collaboration of Gregory P. Miller, a senior partner in the law firm of Miller, Alfano and Raspanti and author Denise Dennis, Becoming His Father's Son follows the story from Independence Hall to the North Philadelphia ghetto. The novel holds the readers' interest until the last page is turned.