A Son’s Journey

An unhappy childhood sends many people in search of a therapist. It sent Fox News correspondent Jon Du Pre in search of a publisher.

Du Pre, 42, took the writing path to tell his children about his father, a former FBI agent-turned successful prosecutor and civil rights attorney who abandoned him and his brothers 21 years ago and became homeless. His journal became “The Prodigal Father,” published by Hay House in May.

Du Pre will be at Thousand Oaks Barnes & Noble on Friday to discuss and sign his book, subtitled “A True Story of Tragedy, Survival and Reconciliation in an American Family.” The memoir is the first book for Du Pre, who lives in Simi Valley with his wife and three children.

“I set out to make a living as a writer and got sidetracked,” Du Pre said of his television career. “I always thought that maybe someday I could do what I have a passion for. So instead of going into therapy, I just decided to sit down and write about it.”

He never dreamed his book would land him on the Oprah Winfrey program, where he said it made Oprah cry. Since then, he has been interviewed on more than 50 radio and television talk shows.

Du Pre’s memoir chronicles his search for his father. In the years after he left, Du Pre grew up to become a successful television newscaster with an enviable family and a seething inner rage he could not understand or contain.

It came to a head when he was doing a telecast in Boston accompanied by footage of an old homeless man who could have been his father, huddled over a grate for warmth. It turned out that the man wasn’t his own father, but it triggered feelings of panic, rage and guilt. When his young son, Kasey, asked him one day where Grandpa Bob was, he didn’t have any answers, and it suddenly hit him--he was still angry about his father leaving him.

“I was taking it out on my wife and I was afraid I would take it out on my kids and would blow it the same way he had blown it,” Du Pre said. “I knew I had to do something--I had to go and find him.”

Du Pre not only found him but hung out with him for a couple of weeks and learned about his father’s way of life among the homeless. The men help each other out, watch each others’ backs and make sure that nobody gets into too much trouble with the law, he said.

While his search ended, it hasn’t been the storybook ending people might expect. Du Pre said he would not recommend what he did to others, because it easily might have gone wrong, but he strongly urged others with lost loved ones to do something, whatever that might be.

In his case, his father has maintained the migratory pattern of his life, stretching his $333 monthly disability check as far as possible and then depending on his circle of friends, who also rely on him. The difference these days is that his dad now visits with his other family--for a two-day maximum imposed by the elder Du Pre, who doesn’t want to wear out his welcome, he said.

“My dad knows he’s reconnected with my family,” Du Pre said. “Whenever he needs help, he doesn’t have to panhandle. He’ll call us from the Greyhound and we’ll go get him and bring him in. He gets to take a shower, sleep on a soft bed, get a hot meal, change of clothes, money or whatever.”

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Bombarded with more than 350 e-mails since his appearance on “Oprah” and publication of the book, Du Pre is often asked how he could let his father remain homeless and suffer. He answers that he can’t be responsible for his father’s life. Furthermore, he can’t enforce his will on him. Many have tried and regretted it, he said.

“He’s out there because that is where he feels he belongs,” he said.

As for his kids, Du Pre said they don’t judge his father--he is Grandpa. When they sit on his lap and feel his wrinkles and look in his eyes, they see something they recognize. At that point, he had done his job and was healed, Du Pre said.

“I didn’t have to worry any more about ruining everything, and I wasn’t angry any more--it was scrubbed right out of me,” he said.

HAPPENINGS

* TODAY, 1 p.m. Kirk Mitchell will sign and discuss “Spirit Sickness.” Mysteries to Die For, 2940 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks, 374-0084.

* TODAY, 4 p.m. Pen Pals PLUS Camp explores fine arts with writing crafts and journaling for ages 7 and up. Borders, 125 W. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks, 497-8159.

* TODAY, 7 p.m. Pajamamania with classic folk tales and fairy tales. Borders, 497-8159.

* SUNDAY, 2 p.m. Joyce M. Kennedy will sign and discuss “Distant Thunder.” Thousand Oaks Barnes & Noble, 160 S. Westlake Blvd., 446-2820.

* SUNDAY, 6 p.m. Poetry group discussion followed by a featured poet at 7 p.m. and open mike at 8 p.m. Borders, 497-8159.

* MONDAY, 7 p.m. The Spiritual Book Discussion Group, facilitated by the Rev. Gifford Smith of the Interfaith Church of Today, will focus on “Seat of the Soul” by Gary Zukav. Borders, 497-8159.

* TUESDAY, 4:30 p.m. Stories about Chinese folk tales. Thousand Oaks Barnes & Noble, 446-2820.

* TUESDAY, 7 p.m. Professor Michael Collings of Pepperdine University will lead the monthly poetry workshop. Borders, 497-8159.

* WEDNESDAY, 9:30 a.m. Storytime about Curious George and the Man with the Big Yellow Hat. Ventura Barnes & Noble, 4360 E. Main St., 339-9170.

* WEDNESDAY, 8 p.m. A new poetry group meets the second and third Wednesdays of the month. Experienced and beginning poets welcome. Ventura Barnes & Noble, 339-9170.

* THURSDAY, 7 p.m. The American Girls club will feature Amelia. Ventura Barnes & Noble, 339-9170.

* FRIDAY, 7 p.m. Jon Du Pre, a correspondent for the Fox News Network, will sign and discuss “The Prodigal Father.” Thousand Oaks Barnes & Noble, 446-2820.

Information about book signings, writers groups and publishing events can be e-mailed to [email protected] or faxed to (805) 647-5649.