| Title | : | Fatherhood: Rising to the Ultimate Challenge |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0451236734 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780451236739 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 320 |
| Publication | : | First published May 1, 2012 |
In Fatherhood , beloved NBA player, poet, youth advocate, and devoted dad Etan Thomas speaks from his heart on what matters most in his being there for his children. As a highly respected player in the NBA and a leading participant in President Obama’s Fatherhood Initiative, Etan has reached out to young men (often young fathers) in the juvenile detention system and in local communities. He knows firsthand the difference having a father in your life every day can make—and as a father of three, Etan walks the talk in his own life.
Now he brings together a chorus of voices—highly revered professional athletes and coaches, actors and performing artists, politicians and leaders of faith—to weigh in on the importance of being a father in our nation today. Isaiah Washington, Howard Dean, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Taye Diggs, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Tony Hawk, Al Sharpton, Chuck D and many more share what they’ve learned from being a father, having a father, or in some cases not having a father around.
Through these inspiring personal experiences, Etan and the men he’s gathered together hope to share the message that by standing up and taking an active role as fathers, men not only find their own lives more joyful and fulfilling--they pass on to the next generation an unshakable legacy of love, wisdom, responsibility, and strength.
Fatherhood: Rising to the Ultimate Challenge Reviews
-
The father of a fifteen-year old recently charged in Boston as an adult for murder, in an interview admitted his life as a felon, drug user, and batterer of the boy’s mother influenced who his son had become.
Fatherhood was written years before this family tragedy and speaks directly to how it could have been avoided. Thomas’s circle of colleagues and associates of famous athletes, entertainers and others weigh in on fatherhood. Motivated by debate with older fathers who bemoaned fatherless kids being doomed, he took the optimistic route to collect practical wisdom on how they can be saved. In essays like those of Ice Cube, he warns that life is unfair to the fatherless but get over it and don’t hand the tools to ‘haters’ to keep you down. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar writes like others about what strong relationships with their father or grandfather meant to them. Malcom-Jamal Warner defends his mentor over the Cosby controversy of Blacks part in perpetuating the social problem. Writer Kevin Powell’s essay about the benefits of males having spaces of support to talk about their feelings and find solutions, is arguably the best.
I don’t argue with the substance or importance of the book. I think it should be required reading for young and missing fathers. However, it was too long. Thomas is preaching to the choir; in this case, people who read 300-page books about the importance of parenting. The targeted reader may be turned off by that many pages of advice. It would be wonderful if groups of fathers, around the country, would start father’s book clubs and guide sons through it. Mr. Thomas book just might then make sustaining impact. -
Thomas, an NBA star and former Syracuse Orange star, writes a book he hopes will be a manual for fathers and fathers-to-be. He covers ground others have already covered but does so from the heart. He also peppers the book with essays from men in sports, academia, politics, etc. Thomas uses his own upbringing and his life as a father to inform his writing. One can only hope that the people who Thomas hopes will read his book really do read his book.
-
I was not blessed to have children of my own, but I am blessed to be honorary god-father to several. All of us are blessed to have great inspirations in our lives. Many times it is our own parents. Three cheers to Motherhood and Fatherhood. I now recall this quote by Don Quixote :-) "Onward and forward.
-
I have enjoyed reading this book. Chapter 9 was a turnoff for me including the exclusion of fathers who are dealing with parential alienation by their former partners. It is still a great book and highly recommended.
-
A good read!
