The May edition of Oprah’s O Magazine highlights the release of John Prendergast’s newest book, Unlikely Brothers, a co-authored memoir written with John’s “little brother” Michael Mattocks. The book tells the story of John and Michael’s intertwined lives over nearly 30 years. “[T]heir friendship thrived through years of fishing trips and summer vacations in Philadelphia, but struggled when Prendergast’s activism took him overseas just as Mattocks was spiraling into drug dealing, street violence, and arrests in his teens,” wrote Kimberly Hiss in O.
The book offers a more personalized glimpse into aspects of John’s life that don’t typically come out in his frequent public appearances as the co-founder of Enough but that lend further understanding of his work.
Early reviews of the book have been complimentary:
Said Samantha Power, Pulitzer Prize winning author of A Problem from Hell:
"This is no ordinary memoir. It is an inspiring, important and utterly unforgettable saga. Every American should read it and any who do will be moved–moved to change and moved to act. John and Michael have opened up their innards, probing their friendship, their adventures, their disappointments and their demons so as to light a spark in all of us.”
And from Dave Eggers, author of Zeitoun and What Is the What:
"A book like Unlikely Brothers could have been a slog. It could have been gauzy and preachy. But what John and Michael have pulled off is something as unlikely as their brotherhood—a memoir wonderfully raw and vivid that manages to tell us something new about poverty and struggle and humility and hope. You'll read this in one sitting."