As a boy, JR Moehringer was in need of male influences. Being raised by a hardworking, ever struggling single mom, JR has a strong, positive female influence but no fatherly figure to support and encourage him. He lives in a dilapidated house with his mother, his kind, old grandmother, an offensive grandfather that ignores him, an aunt and her four children, and an uncle that is always gone to the neighborhood bar, Dickens, where he bartends most nights of the week.
One summer, Uncle Charlie lets JR tag along with him and his friends on daily excursions that started at the beach and ended at Dickens. JR loved the attention from the men and couldn’t believe that they accepted this boy as one of them.
Even when JR moved from Manhasset, New York to Arizona with his mother, he would find his way back to Dickens. While attending Yale, Dickens was the place he went to when he needed to vent about schoolwork or relax for awhile. Dickens became the second home for JR and every single one of Charlie’s friends became the father figure he always longed for.
This memoir takes the reader through JR’s childhood dreams into adulthood. If you have ever spent time in a neighborhood bar, you will understand the ‘family’ JR found at Dickens and how the support from these men helped him through many tough periods in his life. The Tender Bar is a wonderful memoir about growing up and finding what you are looking for. JR Moehringer is an excellent story teller who is able to recapture the atmosphere of Dickens and pay homage to the bar and the men that influenced his life.
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