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An arresting memoir of love and unbending religion, toxicity and disease, and one family's desperate wait for a miracle that never came. Kathleen Dorothy Blackburn was the oldest of five children, a twelve-year-old from Lubbock, Texas, whose evangelical family eschewed public education for homeschooling, and wove improbable scientific theories into literal interpretations of the Bible. Then her father, a former air force pilot, was diagnosed with cancer at the age of thirty-eight, and, “it was like throwing gasoline on the Holy Spirit.” Stirred by her mother, the family committed to an extreme diet and sought deliverance from equally extreme sources: a traveling tent preacher, a Malaysian holy man, a local faith-healer who led services called “Miracles on 34th Street.” What they didn't know at the time was that their lives were entangled with a larger, less visible environmental catastrophe. Fire-fighting foams containing carcinogenic compounds had contaminated the drinking water of every military site where her father worked. Commonly referred to as “forever chemicals,” the presence of PFAS in West Texas besieged a landscape already burdened with vanishing water, taking up residence in wells and in the bloodstreams of people who lived there. An arresting portrait of the pernicious creep of decline, and a powerful cry for environmental justice, Loose of Earth captures the desperate futility and unbending religious faith that devastated a family, leaving them waiting for a miracle that would never come.

A sweeping account of male nurturing, explaining how and why men are biologically transformed when they care for babies It has long seemed self-evident that women care for babies and men do other things. Hasn't it always been so? When evolutionary science came along, it rubber-stamped this venerable division of labor: mammalian males evolved to compete for status and mates, while females were purpose-built to gestate, suckle, and otherwise nurture the victors'offspring. But come the twenty-first century, increasing numbers of men are tending babies, sometimes right from birth. How can this be happening? Puzzled and dazzled by the tender expertise of new fathers around the world—several in her own family—celebrated evolutionary anthropologist and primatologist Sarah Blaffer Hrdy set out to trace the deep history of male nurturing and explain a surprising departure from everything she had assumed to be “normal.”In Father Time, Hrdy draws on a wealth of research to argue that this ongoing transformation in men is not only cultural, but profoundly biological. Men in prolonged intimate contact with babies exhibit responses nearly identical to those in the bodies and brains of mothers. They develop caring potential few realized men possessed. In her quest to explain how men came to nurture babies, Hrdy travels back through millions of years of human, primate, and mammalian evolution, then back further still to the earliest vertebrates—all while taking into account recent economic and social trends and technological innovations and incorporating new findings from neuroscience, genetics, endocrinology, and more. The result is a masterful synthesis of evolutionary and historical perspectives that expands our understanding of what it means to be a man—and what the implications might be for society and our species.

The ultimate guide to caring for your newborn—written especially for dads by a pediatrician and fatherCongratulations on your new baby, dad! The next few months will come with a lot of joy, a lot of changes, and a lot to learn—and this book for first-time fathers is here to help. Written by a dad and pediatrician, it's filled with supportive and straightforward advice especially for dads. It's your one-stop resource for everything from birth and basic newborn care to baby-proofing your home, discovering your parenting style, and being there for your partner.Get the new dad's survival guide that includes:Your baby's arrival—Start with guidance for creating a birth plan, choosing a pediatrician, arranging for childcare, and other essential steps you'll want to complete before the baby comes.Ways to navigate your feelings—Becoming a dad is a big deal—and this new dad book can help you come to terms with your pride and excitement, as well as your fears, anxieties, and stress.A focus on the newborn stage—Get detailed information on the growth and developmental milestones you should look out for during the first week, and each month until your baby is 3 months old.Essential answers and advice—How exactly do you dress a tiny baby? Change their diaper? Put them to sleep? This all-in-one handbook for the expectant father has you covered!Grab the Newborn Handbook for New Dads and navigate the first steps of parenthood with confidence!

Full of research backed advice, examples, and reflection questions throughout, this book is for fathers seeking to build their parenting identity while effectively supporting their child from conception to adulthood.Covering topics such as opportunities for fathers to connect to their children during each stage of development, occasions for men to grow and develop when they become fathers, advice for healthy and successful coparenting, as well as how to support a positive father-child relationship, this book provides important answers to questions that fathers frequently ask about parenting.Fathers and Children Together is a must read for fathers aspiring to create strong connections to their children, as well as all parents, practitioners, and students in disciplines such as psychology, human development and family studies, parent education, and social work.

Si les pères québécois sont plus investis que jamais dans leur famille, la parentalité demeure un univers façonné par et pour les mères, où peu d'hommes prennent la parole. Ce livre, c'est la discussion autour d'une bière que Maxime Pearson et Samuel Tremblay auraient aimé avoir avec un autre père avant d'avoir leur premier enfant. Naviguant entre l'anecdote qui fait rire, le témoignage senti et les saucettes dans la littérature scientifique, Nouveaux pères offre aux futurs et jeunes papas un regard humain et des réflexions pertinentes sur ce que leur réserve la paternité. Des premiers moments avec bébé à la conciliation famille-travail, en passant par la vie de couple, la charge mentale, la relation père-enfant, la gestion des finances et le sexe après l'accouchement, aucun sujet n'est mis de côté. Ni experts, ni extraordinaires, les auteurs se prêtent à l'exercice avec une bonne dose d'humilité. Avec humour et franchise, ils livrent un plaidoyer assumé pour l'engagement paternel et une plus grande égalité homme-femme dans le partage des responsabilités familiales. Mesdames, vous êtes cordialement invitées à réfléchir avec nous.

This highly accessible book presents a new approach to treating men who use violence against their partners and/or children. The Fathers for Change (F4C) program has a unique focus on fostering fathers'accountability and reflective functioning, and repairing father–child relationships. Grounded in theory and research, it addresses a key need for parents who want to stay together or coparent successfully in the aftermath of violence, while prioritizing all family members'safety. Clinicians learn how to implement each component of F4C, from assessment to individual-focused work to coparent and family sessions, if appropriate. Illustrative case vignettes are featured throughout. An appendix provides 32 reproducible forms, worksheets, and handouts that can be downloaded (many in a fillable format) and printed as needed.

This aim of this open access book is to launch an international, cross-disciplinary conversation on fatherhood engagement. By integrating perspective from three sectors—Health, Social Policy, and Work in Organizations—the book offers a novel perspective on the benefits of engaged fatherhood for men, for families, and for gender equality. The chapters are crafted to engaged broad audiences, including policy makers and organizational leaders, healthcare practitioners and fellow scholars, as well as families and their loved ones.

A father reflects on the rich life of his son, who died suddenly at twenty-six after living with schizophrenia. On the morning of Boxing Day 2009, the poet Fraser Sutherland and his wife found their son, Malcolm, dead in his bedroom in their house. He was twenty-six and had died from a seizure of unknown cause. Malcolm had been living with schizophrenia since the age of seventeen.Fraser's respectful narration of Malcolm's life — his happiness as well as his sufferings, his heroic efforts to calm his troubled mind, his readings, his writings, his experiments with religious thought — is a master writer's attempt to give shape and dignity to his son's life, to memorialize it as more than an illness. And in writing about his son's life, Fraser creates his own self-effacing memoir — the memoir of a parent's resilience through years of stressful care.Fraser Sutherland, one of Canada's finest poetry critics and essayists, died shortly after completing this book.A RARE MACHINES BOOK

Depuis plusieurs années, l'immigration a largement participé au renouvellement de la population québécoise. Même si une grande proportion de ces immigrants sont des pères, on connaît peu leur réalité au sein de la société d'accueil. Immigrer avec sa famille amène un ensemble de modifications sur les plans psychologique, social, culturel, familial, relationnel et économique. Il s'agit d'une transition nécessitant un ajustement important qui est fréquemment lié à une plus grande vulnérabilité. Cet ouvrage collectif s'adresse aux chercheuses, aux chercheurs et aux personnes qui étudient ou travaillent dans le milieu de l'intervention. Il constitue une synthèse de travaux menés dans un cadre interdisciplinaire et vient combler un manque constaté de publications sur les pères immigrants. Le phénomène de la paternité en contexte migratoire est abordé selon différentes approches parmi lesquelles les processus identitaires chez les pères immigrants, le rôle paternel perçu par les enfants, la naissance d'un enfant en contexte migratoire, la violence conjugale ou encore la place du père sur le marché du travail. La pluralité des thématiques abordées par les autrices et les auteurs de ce collectif montrent que la paternité en contexte migratoire nécessite des forces et des ressources afin de s'adapter à une réalité complexe.

As a child, teenager, and young adult Edna didn't realize the value of the gifts God had given her. She felt she had been cheated out of everything life had to offer her, wanting to be socially compatible with the'elite people'even though she didn't know anything about their character. Since her daddy, Berkeley Herbert Brown, had the responsibility of taking care of his family, Edna believed he hadn't fulfilled his role as the provider because she didn't get the things she wanted as a child. One day while she was waiting in the Internal Medicine Clinic, Edna connected with a stranger who was anxious to share her heartbreaking story. The stranger's story made Edna reflect on her upbringing and the values she was taught from her father. Edna's challenges were replaced with an appreciation of the gifts God had given her through her parents, and she recalled good memories of her happy childhood and teenage life with her father and mother. She realized it wasn't about what her father had given her, but how he had taught her to have a happy life and fulfilled purpose.

Die Kenntnis über eine Behinderung des Ungeborenen wird von betroffenen Eltern oft als schockierend erlebt. Neben der Schwangeren sind auch werdende Väter von einem Befund emotional betroffen. Entsprechende Aufmerksamkeit wird Männern in dieser Situation aber kaum zuteil. »Kann und möchte ich Vater eines behinderten Kindes sein? Welche Entscheidung wird meine Partnerin treffen? Was heißt es für uns als Paar, mit einem behinderten Kind zu leben?« - Im Spannungsverhältnis zwischen der eigenen Belastung und einer erlebten Verantwortung berichten Männer von ihren Erfahrungen, Konflikten und deren Bewältigung.

Becoming a parent can be daunting... terrifying, in fact.This is especially true for dads. Where's the road map? Well, you're looking at it. This book from the editors of Fatherly, the largest digital brand for dads, is a one-stop source for fathers-to-be, empowering them to be the best parent they can be--with both confidence and joy.New fathers grapple with both practical and existential questions: Is my baby supposed to do that? How do I afford to make my family thrive? How does swaddling work again? Who am I, and what kind of dad will I become?Fatherhood is here to answer all of these questions and more.This comprehensive guide walks fathers through everything they need to know--practically, emotionally, and philosophically--over the course of the first year of a baby's life.The content is divided by developmental stage:Pregnancy up to birthInfancy (the first 500 days)Toddlerhood (days 500 to 1,000)By offering data, anecdotes, and expert-driven analysis, the authors prep dads for what's ahead, letting them know they're not alone on their journey.Fatherhood is the book every father and father-to-be needs.

From an esteemed author known for battling gender norms and bringing down'man up'culture, comes this essential guide for men and those who love them. Miscarriage, infertility, and abortion are generally considered women's issues—and while they are far from uncommon in our society, open conversations surrounding those topics are exceedingly rare. They're seen as taboo, even distasteful. And that's just for women. When it comes to men and how they are impacted by these issues, it's almost complete radio silence. It's not that men don't think about these things or aren't affected—after all, they make up half of most couples experiencing these issues—it's that toxic masculinity and gender stereotypes in our society tell men that suffering in silence equals strength and expressing emotions is weakness. It's men not knowing how to feel, how to express those feelings, or if they're even allowed to feel this trauma beyond supporting their partner. In Men and Miscarriage, husband and wife Aaron and MJ Gouveia ask men (and others) these questions directly. Using their own personal experiences enduring four miscarriages and a medically-necessary abortion combined with interviews of people from all different backgrounds and walks of life, the couple sheds light on how these topics influence men, women, their relationships, their mental health, and examines the shame and stigma too often associated with pregnancies that don't go as planned.

A fascinating new volume of messages about fatherhood, from the author of the bestselling Letters of Note collections.In Letters of Note: Fathers, Shaun Usher collects together remarkable correspondence by and about fathers, including proud parental words of love, advice from experienced dads to new ones, as well as letters from both frustrated and adoring offspring.Includes letters by:Anne Frank, W.E.B. Du Bois,Jawaharlal Nehru, Groucho Marx,Che Guevara, Ted HughesKatherine Mansfield, Fergal Keane,Arthur Conan Doyle, Samuel Bernstein& many more

The Heart Is the Size of a Fist is a story of a boy's complicated relationship with his violent, but charismatic, alcoholic father. The son, Paul, recalls periods that his parents reconciled, followed by times of desperate flight with his damaged mother. It is also a poignant coming-of-age and a coming-out tale as Paul discovers his identity. And a story of brotherly love, as he seeks to protect from harm his estranged half-brother – the only other person who can call that man ‘Dad'.

Whether sudden or years in the making, divorce can leave families with a lot of pain and uncertainty—and with the children in the mix, the stakes are even higher. Enter author Paul Mandelstein, the divorced father of four children and founder of the Father Resource Network (FRN). In The World's Best Dad During and After Divorce: A Guide to Co-Parenting for Divorced Dads, Mandelstein helps fathers (and mothers) discover a path to navigate the stormy waters of divorce and create a healthy extended family environment, guided by the principles of collaboration and cooperation.Packed with advice from family counseling experts, anecdotes from divorced parent groups, interviews with fathers, mothers, and children, and the author's own first-hand experiences, The World's Best Dad During and After Divorce is a realistic, yet compassionate approach to parenting during and after divorce. The user-friendly format combines bulleted lists with practical suggestions, exercises, and even sample dialogues that make even the most difficult conversations with children and former spouses more manageable. Most importantly, this guidebook empowers men to be the best fathers they can be: fathers who are present and accountable, loving and leading, competent and caring.

Celebrate the dads in your life! After all they've done for us, dads everywhere deserve to be appreciated on a daily basis, rather than waiting all year for a card and tie (or some power tools). Though the holiday has morphed over the years into more of a commercial event, it's high time we got back to the idea of making Dad feel treasured and appreciated all the time. Think back on the many things, big and small, your father has done for you over the years—isn't it time you started making those same gestures in the other direction? We think so! It is never too early, or for that matter, too late, to make a parent feel special. In these pages, you'll find idea after idea that will encompass a wide variety of activities to get you thinking about how to make your dad feel special, even if you don't live close by. Also included are quotes, and special stories and memories from numerous people about what makes fatherhood, or their own father, special. Go ahead and remember to buy that card and bring over some treats on the actual Father's Day, but in the meantime, here are some ways to make every day count...

Was ein Vater ist, wissen wir heute nicht mehr. Das zeigt sich in den Entwicklungsstörungen und der mangelnden Sozialisation von Kindern ebenso wie im zunehmenden Unbehagen von Vätern und den Überlastungen der Mütter. Der lange Schatten des abwesenden Vaters liegt wie ein Bleigewicht auf dem Leben aller. Wollen wir uns davon befreien, braucht es eine angemessene Rollenbeschreibung, die zeigt, wie und was ein Vater heute sein könnte – jenseits von überkommenen Männlichkeitsvorstellungen, patriarchalen Familienmodellen oder der Idee einer geschlechtlosen Elternschaft. Björn Vedders Essay leistet ebendas: Er entwickelt eine zeitgemäße Vaterrolle – aus psychologischen, philosophischen und sozialwissenschaftlichen Studien, aus den Produkten der Hoch- und der Popkultur und vor allem aus den grundlegenden Erfahrungen, die wir in der Familie und im Leben machen können. Dabei wird deutlich, warum ein Kind zu bekommen, ein Sprung in das gute Leben ist, warum Väter, die sich an Recht und Ordnung halten, Angsthasen sind, was die Künste des Vaters vermögen und wie Mutter und Vater das Kind gemeinsam fertig machen zur Fahrt. Eine besondere Bedeutung kommen dabei Erfahrungen des Verlustes zu. Für deren Reflexion gibt es in der gegenwärtigen Kultur keinen Ort. Sie werden aber zukünftig immer wichtiger werden. Mit dem Vater stellt Vedder eine Figur vor, diese Erfahrungen wieder sinnvoll in unser Leben zu integrieren. So werden die Väter von heute zu Vätern der Zukunft.

El siglo XXI renueva el reto de ser padres, la formación moral que emerge desde los hogares es el compromiso pertinente y prioritario en un mundo lleno de incertidumbre, ignorancia e indiferencia. La participación de diversos dominios del conocimiento sobre el comportamiento moral del individuo, ha proporcionado cuestionamientos acerca de la influencia o prevalencia de los factores biológicos y medio ambientales en la formación de este.

Dadskills includes everything men need to know when it comes to parenting—from baby-wrangling and toddlers to tweens and teens.

Drawing on detailed qualitative research, this timely study explores the experiences of fathers who take on equal or primary care responsibilities for young children. The authors examine what prompts these arrangements, how fathers adjust to their caregiving roles over time, and what challenges they face along the way. The book asks what would encourage more fathers to become primary or equal caregivers, and how we can make things easier for those who do. Offering new academic insight and practical recommendations, this will be key reading for those interested in parenting, families and gender, including researchers, policymakers, practitioners and students.

This handbook provides a comprehensive review of the impact of fathers on child development from prenatal years to age five. It examines the effects of the father-child relationship on the child's neurobiological development; hormonal, emotional and behavioral regulatory systems; and on the systemic embodiment of experiences into the child's mental models of self, others, and self-other relationships. The volume reflects two perspectives guiding research with fathers: Identifying positive and negative factors that influence early childhood development, specifying child outcomes, and emphasizing cultural diversity in father involvement; and examining multifaceted, specific approaches to guide father research. Key topics addressed include: Direct assessment of father parenting (rather than through maternal reports).The effects of father presence (in contrast to father absence).The full diversity of father involvement.Father's impact on gender role differentiation.Father's role in triadic interactions of family dynamics.Father involvement in psychotherapeutic family interventions. This handbook draws from converging perspectives about the role of fathers in very early child development, summarizes what is known, and, within each chapter, draws attention to the critical questions that need to be answered in coming decades.The Handbook of Fathers and Child Development is a must-have resource for researchers, graduate students, and clinicians, therapists, and other professionals in infancy and early child development, social work, public health, developmental and clinical child psychology, pediatrics, family studies, neuroscience, juvenile justice, child and adolescent psychiatry, school and educational psychology, anthropology, sociology, and all interrelated disciplines.

Winner of a 2021 Gold Living Now Award. Why Does Daddy Always Look So Sad? is a poignant and honest memoir detailing Jude Morrow's journey to parenthood, and how his autism profoundly affected that journey, for both better and worse, bringing hope to all who live with autism as well as those who care for someone on the spectrum.I knew that Jupiter has seventy-nine known moons and where the swimming pool was located on the Titanic, yet I didn't know how to connect with this beautiful child who called me “Daddy.” Why Does Daddy Always Look So Sad? is a candid view of life and love through the eyes of an autistic adult—who went from being a nonverbal and aggressive child to a hard working and responsible father to a non-autistic son. Growing up autistic, Jude Morrow faced immense challenges and marginalization, but he was able to successfully—though not without difficulty—finish university and transition into a successful career and eventually parenthood. Those with autism can have difficulty understanding the world around them and can find it hard to find their voice, but in this poignant and honest memoir, Jude defiantly uses his found voice to break down the misconceptions and societal beliefs surrounding autism, bringing hope to all who live with autism as well as those who care for someone on the spectrum. Jude views his autism as a gift to be shared, not a burden to be pitied, and as he demonstrates through his honest recollections and observations, autistic people's lives can be every bit as happy and fulfilling as those not on the spectrum.

The essential guide for fathers of one- and two-year-olds, completely revised and updated Learn how to make a positive impact in these milestone years of your child's development, when he or she goes from crawling to walking, and from knowing just a few words to speaking in complete sentences. Armin Brott guides you through this crucial phase of fatherhood three months at a time, in the third volume of the New Father series trusted by millions of dads nationwide. Each chapter covers:Your child's physical, intellectual, verbal, and emotional/social developmentWhat you're experiencing as a fatherAge-appropriate activities you and your child can enjoy togetherFamily matters, including your relationship with your partner, sibling relationships, and moreThis new edition of The New Father: A Dad's Guide to the Toddler Years has been thoroughly updated to cover the issues dads face today, from balancing work and family to managing kids'screen time. Dads will rely on this friendly yet authoritative book—and moms will find it helpful, too.

The help divorcing dads need to survive marital breakdown while staying close to their kids. Divorce and separation are overwhelmingly sad, especially when kids are involved. In Do You Ever Cry, Dad? I.J. Schecter shares his experience, stories from other fathers, and insights from family experts to provide practical and emotional support to dads going through the anguish of a split, and to help them maintain a loving and healthy relationship with those who matter most in their lives: their children. Filled with emotional and practical help, concrete research, and a deep understanding of the pain and processing marital breakup involves, Do You Ever Cry, Dad? aims to help dads get themselves and their kids through one of the hardest changes in their lives. Honest, heartfelt, and compassionate, this book is here to instill in any dad hope in place of the despair and hurt he may be keeping to himself.

The ultimate collection of DIY activities to do with your kids to teach STEM basics and beyond, from a wildly popular online dad.With more than 3 million fans, TheDadLab has become an online sensation, with weekly videos of fun and easy science experiments that parents can do with their kids. These simple projects use materials found around the house, making it easier than ever for busy moms and dads to not only spend more quality time with their children but also get them interested in science and technology.In this mind-blowing book, Sergei Urban takes the challenge off-screen with fifty step-by-step projects, including some that he has never shared online before. Each activity will go beyond the videos, featuring detailed explanations to simplify scientific concepts for parents and help answer the hows and whys of their curious children. Learn how to:explore new fun ways to paint;make slime with only two ingredients; defy gravity with a ping-pong ball;produce your own electricity, and more!With TheDadLab, parents everywhere will have an easy solution to the dreaded'I'm bored'complaint right at their fingertips!

Fatherhood today is in crisis. Fathers have gone missing, or have become their children's playmates, and the symbolic authority of the father has lost its power. What remains of the father today in the wake of this decline, and what should the relation between children and parents now be? In addressing these questions, Massimo Recalcati draws inspiration from the story of Telemachus in Homer's Odyssey. The Telemachus complex is the reverse of the Oedipus complex. Recalcati argues that children are possessed not just with a desire to annihilate their father, as their key rival in the contest to win the mother's love, but also with a longing for a father-figure, as someone who brings meaning, structure and order to their lives and who imbues them with a sense of the future. This fresh and insightful account of the changing relations between parents and children in the era of the decline of the father will be of great interest to a wide general readership.