Rating: 
Summary: Emotional!
Review: I can not put into words the feelings reading this book brought to me. We as black women speak candidly about our emotions daily, but to see a black man, correction a strong black man do it brings such joy. My hats off to Michael Datcher for exposing the emotional side of a black man.
Rating:
Summary: Touching
Review: After reading this book, I feel like I know this man personally. He writes as though he is talking to a very close friend; honest and not afraid to share his emotions.I enjoyed it very much and it touched me. I look forward to more of his work.
Rating: 
Summary: A wonderful read.
Review: I read the book for my reading group and it was a great read. I picked it up and, like most of the other reviewers, I just kept reading. I'm not a big fan of poetry (it's an art form I have not understood or embraced), but his writing vacilates between wonderful imagery and monologues to fairly pedestrian dialogue. He would mix incredible poetic cadences with wooden and stilted writing that, I don't think, the two always married well from the "novel" point of view (even though the story is autobiographical). Nonetheless, I really enjoyed the book. I got a sense that by the end of the novel, he was still searching (hoping?) for the picket fence. Or, at the very least, he was now on his way.
Rating:
Summary: INCREDIBLE!!
Review: I must admit, I was going on a book buying spree and picked this book up because: 1) the title was intriguing, and 2) the book store had nothing else at that time. It took some time for me to pick up the book, and finally did so on a recent vacation. Once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. Michael Datcher brings so much emotion and reality about growing up fatherless and facing the near-reality of bringing a child into this world, and having her grow up fatherless as well. He tells the story of so many young Black men in America, yet gracefully adds his artistic side (through poetry) to bring the point home. I must say, toward the end of the book, I nearly cried... but had to hold my emotions back because I was on an airplane! This book is a must-read!
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good
Review: Raising Fences is the life story of, a the great writer Michael Datcher. A young black man trying to make it in today's society, living in bad neighborhoods, trying to find love. The part when Michael's mom battle with the white lady who knew karate, who's dog bit Michael was so funny. I wish the book would have more parts about him and his wife Jenoyne.
Rating:
Summary: My Flip Side of Love Revealed
Review: When I first purchased this book, I wondered if the title would live up to its claim - "A Black Man's Love Story". I have always been an avid reader of African American romance novels and all contemporary African American male authors have not disappointed thus far. From E. Jerome Dickey to Colin Channer, I have grown to appreciate the emotional upheaval African American men go through dealing with their loves on a daily basis. I was delighted to find Michael Datcher experiencing a lot of the same things in his life that I have come across in mine. His eloquence in writing about his lack of a relationship with his Father and his desire to be a better husband for his spouse helped me realize my husband deals with a lot of baggage that I bring to our table. I am awed by the love for his wife Mr. Datcher so openly shares with the reader. It sounds like he has found a way to raise his fences. My husband and I continue to raise ours. Thanks for sharing what's in your heart and soul with me.
Rating:
Summary: 1...2...3.....DAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMNNNN!
Review: I read this book in a little over a day. Not because it was a fast read, but because I literally couldn't put it down. I read it on my lunch break at work walking down Robertson. Read it in the car on the way home as my husband drove. Tangled in my bedsheets after work on a Friday night, shoes still on. Sprawled on the downstairs couch, having to stop my husband repeatedly to read him this or that passage. I was completely overtaken. This story is one of the most beautiful and most honest pieces of literature I have ever read. I was laughing and crying and having my roommates giving me strange looks at the "f--ks" and "ooooh nos" I was muttering to the pages. There are experiences here that I would be inclined, were I the author, to sweep under the rug or paint over with some glossy scenery. Not Michael. He gives you truths you'd be hard up to match, a sense of honesty in his life and in his writing I think we should all aspire to. This book is intense. Read it twice. Share it with everyone you know.
Rating:
Summary: wonderful
Review: art and honesty intertwined; a true poet and writer.
Rating:
Summary: Picket Fence Dreams
Review: "The urban ventriloquist" is how Michael Datcher author of Raising Fences refers to his self and others who look like him. Raising Fences is Michael Datchers' memoirs of growing up without a father. The book starts with Michael retrieving his birth certificate from the mailbox hoping for answers to legitimize him as a man. Who is my father, a question that lingers over the heads of many brothers in the neighborhood? What Michael gets instead is a space marked "Father's Full Name" is "Legally Withheld". Michael's character was not much different from the men we know, what made his story different was his bravery and his personal belief system. He overcame his stuttering and his desire for the white picket fences was beginning to materialize, until he was informed again by a piece of paper that it was a lie. During Michael's search for a father, he found The Church of Christ, his faith grew and his stuttering subsided. The Cult Awareness Network distributed leaflets, to students warning them about the church. Michael was afraid if he left the church God would be mad, so he stayed a while longer. My favorite part of this poetic probe was Michael never did find his father, what he did find was a community. Within the community was the World Stage Family; from them he got poetry, friends, family and a writing workshop. Michael went on to become a husband, and a published writer of poems and essays. This book is for everyone, but specifically for all the brothers out there who have had chipmunks chewing at the picket fence. This was an excellent read and I will be giving this as Christmas gifts to my male sibling, with a card from Uncle Remus: Each One Teach One.. Missy, RAW Reviewer
Rating:
Summary: Breathtaking
Review: I was chapter or two into this book before I realized it was non-fiction. Michael Datcher's style is so vivid and fluid I thought "Raising Fences" was a story he'd spun from his imagination. Once I realized it was a memoir, I was that much more intrigued by his story. Datcher takes the reader through some of the defining moments in his life. His tale may not be much different than many other men, but he bravely lays himself wide open for his readers in a way that must have been painful but also necessary. His life-long ache for a father, his stuttering speech impediment, his painful spiritual soul-searching (which leads him to join a cult-like religion), and his damaging experience with a dishonest woman are all shared with honesty and grit. Happily, Datcher's story ends on a high note, and by the time you reach the end of this book you'll want to cry tears of joy for him. Read this book. You won't be disappointed. I admire the hell out of Datcher for having the heart to write this book.
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