The Father's Guide to the Meaning of Life: What Being a Dad Has Taught Me About Hope, Love, Patience, Pride, and Everyday Wonder (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Men's Health writer Joe Kita rekindles the magic he created in his successful Wisdom of Our Fathers--this time turning his keen insights to his own experience as a father. Becoming a parent is a life-altering experience for anyone, and Kita shares his personal, transcendent moments as a parent in this unique look at fatherhood.

Readers will learn about the heroes and role models that Kita--and other parents--have discovered along the parenting path, and even the books and music that helped shape his attitudes about fatherhood. In first-person prose, Kita provides more than 12 essential lessons about life that were taught to him by his children, and the moments, as when he said goodbye to his own father for the last time, that transcend all others. In essence, The Father's Guide is a study of life, complete with obstacles and rewards, as seen through the prism of a father's experience.

From the Inside Flap

The Father's Guide to the Meaning of Life What Being a Dad Has Taught Me about Hope, Love, Patience, Pride, and Everyday Wonder

On Perfection "The best dads are the ones who aren't afraid to screw up in front of their kids. They're the ones who drop an occasional fly ball and laugh, who burn a meal and then treat everyone to dinner, who call a repairman to fix what they couldn't, who finish second (or last) with no regrets. These guys make such good fathers because they're so real. If you're not perfect, your children never feel they have to be."

On the Need for Play "Play is instinctual. You see it in cubs; you see it in kids. Give a child an interesting object, and it follows as naturally as giggles from a tickle. It is how we learn, how we explore, how we first open our minds. And when we stumble across it as adults, part of us remembers this and prepares to grow again. The older we get, the more exciting that possibility is."

On Love "A good test for love is if it can thrive amidst the mundane, whether you can find as much shared satisfaction in living the everyday as you can the extraordinary. If so, then it's true. Remember this: Life is largely routine, and love must carry on in these times, too."

On Knowledge "A child's inclination is to question the world, and a father's duty is to supply as many answers as he can. The important thing to remember is that even if you don't know the explanation, your kid thinks you do. Don't let him down."

On Bedtime "No time is more special between father and child than the few minutes just before bed. Whether they're 15 months or 15 years, they are the warmest, kindest, and most appreciative of beings during that brief period. Use this opportunity for whatever you like: a bedtime story, a prayer, a discussion. It doesn't really matter. The important thing is your being there, your giving them your full attention for perhaps the first time that day."

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 136 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press (June 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579542891
• ISBN-13: 978-1579542894
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,391,769 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What ""A Father's Guide"" Taught This Mother of Three, June 6, 2000

By	tracy mahoney (New Hampshire, USA) - See all my reviews

I bought this book for Father's Day for my dad. Needless to say I couldn't put it down. It is insightful, indearing, and helped me to see things from my dad's or any father's point of view. I learned things that I've always wanted to know about my dad. Like how although men like to show they're tough, a child brings out feelings and wonder that they never knew was inside of them. The story of the secret handshake was the best, now my daughter and I have one, thanks to the author. I highly recommend this book for any father or parent. It awakened my soul to the wonderment of parenthood and childhood. Thank You Joe Kita...I learned so much.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great companion to Kita's Wisdom of our Fathers, January 6, 2005

By	D. Hanselman "philosophy student" (Finger Lakes, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Father's Guide to the Meaning of Life: What Being a Dad Has Taught Me About Hope, Love, Patience, Pride, and Everyday Wonder (Hardcover)

Father's Guide and Wisdom of our Fathers really should've been one book. That being said, together I'm finding them excellent guides to the joys and heartaches (and everything in between)that I've already been through and expect to experience as a father. My daughter's almost 14 months now and we're expecting #2 and already I've faced quite a few of the hopes and fears Kita talks about. It's nice to know I'm not alone! Father's Guide is much more personal than Wisdom of our Fathers, sometimes painfully so (I'm still not sure I needed to know his son was born w/ 6 fingers...), but that just makes it seem like you're there chatting w/ Kita - having a beer and talking about your kids. I can't say I really learned anything new from Father's Guide or that I'd make some of the same decisions Kita makes, but, as someone who takes their job as a father seriously, it's been invaluable and enjoyable to see what he has to say. If you want to learn something, then I'd recommend Wisdom of our Fathers, it's filled w/ stories and quotes that come closer to being "lessons". But, if you just want to feel like you're chatting with a buddy, and I don't know anyone who doesn't need that from time to time, this is an excellent choice.