Anthem Recommends Books for Fathers
Father’s Day was first created by Sonora
Smart Dodd whose father, war veteran, William Jackson Smart was a single dad
that raised six children on his own. After Dodd heard a sermon regarding Mother’s
Day, Dodd encouraged her pastor that a day honoring fathers should also be established.
The idea soon turned into reality.
Dodd initially wanted Father’s Day to fall
on her father Smart’s birthday which was on June 5, but after much discussion
the date was changed to the third Sunday in June. The first Father’s Day
celebration was officially held in Spokane, Washington and continues to be celebrated today.
This Sunday will be no different. Children
across America are currently searching for a good Father’s Day gift for a day
set aside to honor fathers everywhere. Well, there is no better gift than a
book. Below are a few good books that shed light on the beautiful, complex
relationship between fathers and sons. The lists below are of books and short
stories that I have actually read and that I found to be interesting father and son stories. I hope you enjoy. And if you are a father, have a wonderful
Father’s Day!
Memoir- Comedy
Being a Dad Is Weird: Lessons in Fatherhood From My Family to
Yours-by Ben Falcone. Falcone
is funny-woman Melissa McCarthy’s husband. So, of course it is funny and full
of inappropriate memories that Falcone so eagerly shares with the world about
his unconventional father. There are great loving parts to the book that just
warm the heart. Definitely a book both father and son will get a good laugh out
of.
Memoir- Written by Stars
Not My Father's Son: A Memoir -by Alan Cumming . A heartbreaking
story of an abusive father and polarizing figure that changes the course of his
children’s lives.
Christian
Like Father, Like Son: How
Knowing God as Father Changes Men – by Pete
Alwinson This is a Christian themed book written by Pastor Alwinson.
This book is really for those that did not have a strong father role in their lives
and for those raised with a father that was absent and less affectionate.
Alwinson does his best to help boys/men deal with filling that void by
embarking on a relationship with the heavenly father, God.
Memoir Family History
Dear Father, Dear Son: Two Lives... Eight Hours – by Larry Elder. Dear Father, Dear Son
is a beautiful story of Elder who since the age of 15 ended his relationship
with his father. For years, Elder did not speak with him and thought he never
would. On his deathbed, Elder and his father have a conversation that as you
read each page, you will wish never ends. Dear Father, Dear Son, is a beautiful
memoir of forgiveness and understanding and the bond between father and son
that remains unbreakable.
The Return: Fathers, Sons, and the Land in Between-by Hisham Matar. A horrifying look at what it was like living under the Qaddafi
regime. Matar writes of his father, his disappearance and the events that occurred
during the revolt in Libya. Matar also delves into the lives of others and how
they were affected by this war and revolt. There are stories so hard to fully
grasp, so full of horror that the book is difficult to read at time. But Matar’s
honesty and sentences structured so beautiful and rich in history makes this
book well worth the read. I have not finished reading it, but should soon. I warn you be prepared to be shaken. There is
a story in the book about a man burying his son under the kitchen floor that
actually made me lose sleep. The Return won the Pulitzer Prize and Man Booker
Award and is deserving of every prize received.
Moving Target, A Memoir-
by Ron Arias. Arias is a journalist and writes as such. The book is easy and
utterly interesting to read. Arias begins with the history of his parents that
is filled with beauty and horror. Arias’s father was a Korean POW that remains
a mystery for much of the book. Arias, as a skilled journalist does his best to
get to know a man that has remained a mystery to him for much of his life. He doesn’t
find the answers to all his questions but there is clearly redemption found by the
end of the book. A great informative book
about how we really never know who and what our parents were before they became
ours.
It Calls You Back: An Odyssey through love, addictions and
healing by Luis J. Rodriguez. I love
this book. Rodriguez also wrote Always Running
a truthful memoir about his life in gangs and prison. It Calls You Back takes place during the second phase of his
life. Rodriguez has already transformed his life and has become a pillar and activist
in his community. However, the life of his past rears its ugly face toward his
children. Rodriguez writes an honest book of what it feels like as a father
dealing with the difficulty and helplessness he endures, as he watches his son
make the same mistakes he had in his youth. Rodriguez is so brutally honest
that it is beautiful, he takes no prisoners, and he brushes off no responsibility.
Rodriguez boldly admits his shortcomings and through this a beautiful tale
between father and son evolves. This is a must read for anyone in the midst of change,
of wanting more, the first steps come from within.
Fiction
The Road by Cormac McCarthy.
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, as well as my heart. I quote this book often. I’ve
read it over five or six times. It is absolutely gorgeous. At what seems like
the end of civilization, a father does his best to care, protect and
continually teach his son to be good, “to carry the fire”. There are so many
scenes in the novel that are heartbreaking and teeming with death, but the
unconditional love of a father and faith in his only son gives the book hope
and life. Every father should read this book, every human.
Fiction-Short Story
Tiny And Ray by Kate Krautkramer. This short story was published in
The Normal School’s Issue 13. It is a heartbreaking story of how a father shouldn’t
raise his son. It is the complete opposite of McCarthy’s The Road but remains a
beautiful, seemingly truthful account of a father that is just as lost as his
son. A definite must read. I really enjoyed this short
story. It lingered with me long after I closed the magazine.
Happy Reading!
Written by Francine
