Book Review: Stick Figures

(Review by Carole O'Neill)

Stick Figures: A Big Brother Remembers is a memoir by D. J. Quinn. As he navigates between time with his Little Brother and his memories of those years, we unravel a happy, sad, guilty, loving, and grateful man who wishes he could have done more for his Little Brother.

Quinn meets Betty who is the foster mother of his potential Little Brother in the caseworker’s office. The meeting was set up to allow them to get to know each other and discuss the expectations of both. Mike is not the average candidate the organization tries to match. He didn’t start talking until he was four and is in special education. He is an energetic seven-year-old who loves to swim but doesn’t like to go to the mall. Within the first few outings, D.J. quickly discovers he and Mike like to talk about Santa, God, showgirls, and speech therapy.

Above all, he is a gamer. Their time together always ended with a look at the calendar to make plans to meet the next time as they drew stick figures to document the time they just spent together. Mike looked forward to those drawings almost as much as the activities they enjoyed. During that time, they often were joined by D.J.’s partner and his Little Brother, Nate. The four of them found swimming off their boat to be one of their favorite pastimes.

During their thirteen-year journey, we follow their intimate true story told with humor and compassion. The twists and turns of their relationship from Mike’s time on the run, to his time in prison, and finally to his final days, we laugh, we cry and we applaud D.J. for taking the interest in a young boy who needed help to grow into a man.

Purchase a copy of Stick Figures:
Paperback: https://amzn.to/48IkuWk​
Kindle: https://amzn.to/4aEqyBR

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