Customer Reviews

A Father for All Seasons

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Bob Welch has done an excellent job of describing in story form the journeys of men, boys, and fatherhood. One paragraph has you laughing, the next can have you in tears. As you remember your childhood growing up, Bob also reminds you what is like to be a father and to watch your children break away and gain their freedom. This is a must-read book for anyone who is serious about being a Dad. Also nicely done is his easy-going witness of his Christian faith. You will not be disappointed with this book.

I read this book in one sitting -- I couldn't put it down! Using the analogy of the changing seasons, Welch takes us through a journey of parenting that is insightful and meaningful for both men AND women. Through his remarkable ability to place the reader smack dab in the middle of the story, he weaves a tapestry of heartfelt and humorous events and memories drawn from his experiences and "seasoned" with the recollections of others. From the all too familiar ritual of hanging Christmas lights to the depths of loss and forgiveness, the reader embarks on a journey full of tears and laughter. At the end, we can't help but contemplate our own stories of family and life while anxiously scanning the Internet for more books by this talented and inspiring writer!

There are few resources written in "laymen's" terms about that relationship that exists between a father and son. But Bob Welch has changed all that with his book, "A Father for All Seasons." The book addresses that "in between time" from birth to death. Welch illustrates the stages of the father/son bond using the seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and a Second Spring. The Second Spring is "... a side of fatherhood you don't find on greeting cards." ("A Father..." page 218) Welch's book draws back the vail of sacredness in the father/son relationship by using his own life experiences in the role of father and son. His ability to tie into the range of emotion from sorrow to joy in using tragic experiences as well as his gift of humor is masterful. Welch is the "Erma Bombeck" of fathers. The reader will be drawn into the mind of a father and son thus exposing thoughts, feelings, actions and reactions that are part of that bond. Using his skills to create detailed "mind images" Welch helps the reader reach a deeper understanding of that special bond. In the chapter "Firsts," Welch writes of the first major league game he took his son to. Welch writes, "... sports can bind together a father and son like the lacing of a well-made mitt." ("A Father..." page 49) This book dares to toss out the stereotypical view of the father/son relationship as being a "guy thing" and ventures into the sustenance of that relationship. If you want to know what that special and sacred attachment is, you will have to read the book. "A Father for All Seasons" is NOT a book for men only! It can be a gift for first time parents, Christmas, birthdays, Fathers' Day, Mothers' Day... by all means Mothers' Day! What better way to show you care then by giving a gift that expands a mother's understanding of the family unit. There is no "right" season to give this book to someone. With Mothers Day and Fathers Day right around the corner... search no further for the "just right" gift. "A Father for All Seasons" is sure to hit the mark.

Bob Welch's love of family, his warmth and gentle humor and his ability to help us feel relationships and find the meaning of them in our own lives makes him a rare and wonderful writer. I blinked back tears at a father's estrangment from his son one moment and then laughed out loud at the timing of a ten year old's insights the next. As a writer myself of both fiction and non-fiction, I find Bob to be a master weaver: of story and realtionship, of feeling and faith. I bought five copies. They're precious gifts given to the fathers and sons I care about in my life. I hope they'll discover the value of those relationships in this book that encourages and teaches. Well done, Bob Welch, well done.

Bob Welch destroys the myth that most Christian books are fluff....this is quality writing by the best writer in the Christian market today....one of the finest writers in the secular field as well....

I am neither a father nor a male, and yet I found myself captivated and enchanted by Welch's father-son stories. Though he focuses on dads and their boys, the lessons are universal. Those lessons (and this book) are for anyone who cares about human relationships. At times it's sad, at times delightfully funny, but always engaging. I will be at the front of the book store line when Welch's next book is published.

This book is one of those rare pieces that can make you laugh out loud and then the next minute bring you to tears. Welch includes stories from his own somewhat-wacky life told with a seasoned writer's easy, engaging style. He also writes accounts of fathers and sons who have inspired him during his years as a journalist. His stories show the joys and pitfalls of the stages of parenting, the circle of life. I plan to give this book as a gift to my father for Father's Day.