In Fathering Stories Volume 1, I share the story of how and when I welcomed our son into my life. The following is an interview with Rev. Dr. Matthew L. Kelley who is one the editors of this book on what other tales of fatherhood are told.
Tell me about the book Fathering Stories?
This is an e-book of stories by twenty different dads from all walks of life, sharing the joys, challenges, struggles, and sometimes heartbreaks that come with being a father.
How did this book come about?
The Fathering Together community started as a conversation among a small number of guys with little girls. That became a Facebook page called Dads with Daughters, and it quickly became the largest dad group on Facebook, with over 124,000 members.
Our two co-founders, Brian Anderson and Christopher Lewis decided to form a non-profit called Fathering Together that aims to create community among dads for support, resourcing, and generally becoming better at all that we do.
Storytelling is a core value of Fathering Together, and this book is an expression of the kinds of stories shared and conversations had in this community.
What types of fatherhood stories are in the book?
We have Birth Stories, stories about Embracing Fatherhood, Forging a Family, and Legacy stories about what we want our impact on our kids’ lives to be.
What do you hope people gain from reading the book?
We hope they gain a sense of commonality with other dads. Most guys aren’t good at sharing emotions, but relaying these experiences that touch the core of who we are is one way to make those connections.
We also hope readers will be challenged to think deeper, either through stories that mirror their own experiences, or ones that are very different.
When will the book be available?
This e-book launched on June 1.
Where will you be able to purchase it?
You can get it on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and any other platform where you purchase e-books. It’s $1.99 and would make a great Father’s Day gift for the dads in your life.
Anything else you would like to add?
We hope that readers get inspired to share their own stories in some way. They can do that by joining the Dads with Daughters or Dads with Sons Facebook communities, and if there’s a specific story someone would like to share for a future volume or another venue, they can go to www.fatheringtogether.org/storytelling.
Pingback: Children's Fantasy Series Has Gay Characters - thatawaydad.com