For All the Wrong Reasons takes the reader on a journey of retrospection. While caring for his dying mother the author shares stories revisiting a past that, although rich in Mexican heritage, is fraught with discrimination and hardship. From living in the back of a gypsy wagon with his parents, through a challenging and enlightening stint in the army, to a businessman in war torn Nicaragua and the challenges of “living brown in a white town”, Dan allows the reader to witness his vulnerability and struggles to become a mover and a shaker in a predominately white man’s world while denying his own heritage. In his climb to the top of the social ladder he gained notoriety as a tough young man with integrity. Although he admits that many of his actions were for increased acknowledgement and fame (all the wrong reasons), the results were groundbreaking in many instances resulting in the first ever march against discrimination in his city and breaking through barriers that previously denied persons of color admittance to public office, private clubs and other public establishments.
Baring his soul to his dying mother, Dan experiences flashbacks that are both humorous and moving. Culminating in the death of his mother, the book reveals how Dan faces his demons making a decision that his future choices would be “for the right reasons”. He learns to accept and respect the color of his skin. He learns that his role is to help his community progress beyond external labels to a community whose diversity of color and culture adds to the richness of the whole. He finally acknowledges and thanks his mother for making him a better human being just out of who she was, a loving mom who never lost faith in her son.
Baring his soul to his dying mother, Dan experiences flashbacks that are both humorous and moving. Culminating in the death of his mother, the book reveals how Dan faces his demons making a decision that his future choices would be “for the right reasons”. He learns to accept and respect the color of his skin. He learns that his role is to help his community progress beyond external labels to a community whose diversity of color and culture adds to the richness of the whole. He finally acknowledges and thanks his mother for making him a better human being just out of who she was, a loving mom who never lost faith in her son.