Before I Forget by Leonard Pitts, Jr.

Moses Johnson isn't an old man—though he's a long way beyond his glory days as one of the most popular soul stars of the 70s. But at just about 50, he's shattered to learn that he's developing early-onset Alzheimer's Disease. The prospect is bleak; he's only got a brief amount of time before he loses his memory, and his conscious self, altogether. Mo's been lucky, and he knows it—more successful than most, with at least one unforgettable hit to his name—but there's plenty in his life he regrets.

Most of those regrets have to do with his son, Trey—who Mo's largely ignored for most of 19 years, whose fortunes have taken a turn for the worse when he gets caught up in a stickup gone bad organized by bad-news friend from the hood. And with his own father, Jack, who he hasn't spoken to for almost three decades, after the tragic violent death of his mother. When he learns his father is dying from cancer, Mo decides to take Trey west, from their home in Baltimore, on a cross-country road trip to Los Angeles, where he grew up and where Jack still lives.