- Introduction - Page 10

Why a book on the best things fathers can do? Because, in our age of equality at all cost, like it or not, fathers and mothers are still very, very different. Yes, things are starting to change, but that change is happening slowly. So we need to be honest and realistic—especially about something as crucially important as parenting.

In general, men tend to be very good at controlling their feelings. Most women may complain, with good cause, that we are too good at it. We are particularly good at “getting on with things” in the face of hardship, danger, pain, and turmoil. It is our training, our history, and even our mythology, weaned as we were on larger-than-life heroes stoically pushing forward to overcome enormous difficulties and crippling losses.

This skill, this ability to function effectively in the face of emotional pressure, has served us well, but it has also exacted a very high price. It has allowed us to create and accomplish out in the world with single-minded focus; but, largely unnoticed, it has also forced many of us to lose track of what is most important and precious, the reasons why we work so hard and what we are working for—our loved ones.

In homes all across the country, men are “getting on” with the business of living. But, as the statistics painfully demonstrate,