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Cover of Alligator Candy: A Memoir

Alligator Candy: A Memoir

by David Kushner

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David Kushner grew up in the early 1970s in the Florida suburbs. It was when kids still ran free, riding bikes and disappearing into the nearby woods for hours. One morning in 1973, however, everything changed. David's older brother Jon biked through the forest to the convenience store for candy, and never returned. Decades later, now a grown man with kids of his own, Kushner found himself unsatisfied with his own memories and decided to revisit the episode a different way: through the eyes of a reporter. His investigation made him realize just how much his past had affected his present. After sifting through hundreds of documents, conducting dozens of interviews, and poring over numerous firsthand accounts, he has produced a powerful and inspiring story of loss, perseverance, and memory.

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"Don’t let the sugary title fool you. In this memoir, David Kushner takes us down a dark path as he unravels the senseless crime that has haunted his family: In 1973, Kushner’s 11-year-old brother was murdered after taking a carefree bike ride through the woods near their suburban Florida home. Kushner carefully reconstructs the shocking crime, but, more than that, his memoir is a powerful exploration of loss, survival and the tricks of memory."
NPR Books We Love — 2016 · apps.npr.org