"Fatherhood is one of the least understood and most mysterious relationships in our lives....We fathers hardly have words for describing the intimate dilemmas of fatherhood, and even when we do find words, many of us choose to keep our passions private."
--Sam Osherson, from the preface
In this superb new book, psychologist and writer Samuel Osherson explores the most challenging and rewarding relationship in a man's life: fatherhood. The Passions of Fatherhood illuminates the joy and anger, excitement and frustration, discovery and bewilderment that fathers experience moment by moment as they struggle to raise their children in today's world. Osherson looks at fathering from the inside, using his own family life as a springboard into universal experience.
As Osherson explains, fatherhood is not simply a role; it's an evolving, highly dynamic relationship that continuously and powerfully transforms men as their children grow up. Through revealing personal anecdotes and interviews with scores of other fathers, Osherson dramatizes the central dilemmas that all fathers face today. How does a father help his son find confidence and strength without pushing him too hard? When a father falls head over heels in love with his little girl, how can he also maintain clear and healthy boundaries? How can men keep the passions of fatherhood from stifling the sexual and emotional passions of marriage? How can men reconcile their desire to be present in their families with their need to get away?
Since being a father inevitably reminds us of our childhoods, Osherson also probes the father's relationship with his own parents--his effort to do things differently from his own dad while at the same time drawing on his male inheritance. In addition, there are sensitive and thoughtful chapters devoted to the father's role in his children's spiritual and moral education, how fathers can deal with their children's natural curiosity about sex, and the special needs of divorced fathers.
Infused with a deep appreciation of the strengths of fathers and sympathetic forgiveness for their weaknesses, The Passions of Fatherhood is ultimately about how fathers find their true place in the family and in the hearts and minds of their children. This insightful, compassionate, sometimes humorous, and often profoundly moving book will inspire men who experience the passions of fatherhood--or are looking forward to doing so.
"A work of wisdom and compassion, a reminder of the joyous dance of parent and child--its complex steps, its erratic rhythms, its potential for harmony and resonance. A book to keep close by in times of trial and triumph."
--Michael Dorris
--Sam Osherson, from the preface
In this superb new book, psychologist and writer Samuel Osherson explores the most challenging and rewarding relationship in a man's life: fatherhood. The Passions of Fatherhood illuminates the joy and anger, excitement and frustration, discovery and bewilderment that fathers experience moment by moment as they struggle to raise their children in today's world. Osherson looks at fathering from the inside, using his own family life as a springboard into universal experience.
As Osherson explains, fatherhood is not simply a role; it's an evolving, highly dynamic relationship that continuously and powerfully transforms men as their children grow up. Through revealing personal anecdotes and interviews with scores of other fathers, Osherson dramatizes the central dilemmas that all fathers face today. How does a father help his son find confidence and strength without pushing him too hard? When a father falls head over heels in love with his little girl, how can he also maintain clear and healthy boundaries? How can men keep the passions of fatherhood from stifling the sexual and emotional passions of marriage? How can men reconcile their desire to be present in their families with their need to get away?
Since being a father inevitably reminds us of our childhoods, Osherson also probes the father's relationship with his own parents--his effort to do things differently from his own dad while at the same time drawing on his male inheritance. In addition, there are sensitive and thoughtful chapters devoted to the father's role in his children's spiritual and moral education, how fathers can deal with their children's natural curiosity about sex, and the special needs of divorced fathers.
Infused with a deep appreciation of the strengths of fathers and sympathetic forgiveness for their weaknesses, The Passions of Fatherhood is ultimately about how fathers find their true place in the family and in the hearts and minds of their children. This insightful, compassionate, sometimes humorous, and often profoundly moving book will inspire men who experience the passions of fatherhood--or are looking forward to doing so.
"A work of wisdom and compassion, a reminder of the joyous dance of parent and child--its complex steps, its erratic rhythms, its potential for harmony and resonance. A book to keep close by in times of trial and triumph."
--Michael Dorris
