An experience of the fragility of conventional images of masculinity is something many modern men share. Psychoanalyst Guy Corneau traces this experience to an even deeper feeling men have of their fathers' silence or absence—sometimes literal, but especially emotional and spiritual. Why is this feeling so profound in the lives of the postwar "baby boom" generation—men who are now approaching middle age? Because, he says, this generation marks a critical phase in the loss of the masculine initiation rituals that in the past ensured a boy's passage into manhood. In his engaging examination of the many different ways this missing link manifests in men's lives, Corneau shows that, for men today, regaining the essential "second birth" into manhood lies in gaining the ability to be a father to themselves—not only as a means of healing psychological pain, but as a necessary step in the process of becoming whole.

Based on a national survey of 300 men, and in-depth interviews with 70 others, this landmark book focuses specifically on how sons cope with the deaths of their fathers, offering a fresh insight into the unique male grieving process.

Praise for Fatherless Sons "Research shows that most men now are better fathers than their own fathers were to them. A generation of men are 'making it up,' giving to their children more than they received. No one describes the poignancy--and hope--of contemporary fatherhood better than Jonathan Diamond's heartfelt and insightful new book. For every man who had a father--and who wants to be one." --Terrence Real, author of I Don't Want to Talk About It: Overcoming the Secret Legacy of Male Depression and How Can I Get Through to You?: Closing the Intimacy Gap Between Men and Women "Diamond's moving account of his relationship with his father is a nuanced exploration of mourning and its aftermath." --Publishers Weekly "This is a powerful and beautiful book, written with warmth, humor, and generosity of spirit. Fatherless Sons guides us through the complex journey of grief, helping to transform pain and anguish into hope and healing." --Dr. Dusty Miller, author of Your Surviving Spirit and Women Who Hurt Themselves

Absent fathers whether due to death, divorce or being emotionally unavailable cause tremendous unmet needs to arise in our lives. This book ex

Drawing from culture, stories, and his own personal experience, John Sowers presents the desperate reality of fatherlessness in his generation. Fatherless Generation is a hard-hitting, descriptive look at this issue, showing how awareness, compassion, and mentoring are the keys to writing new stories of hope.

If you are a mother raising a son without a father, or a father who is no longer in the home with his son, this book was written for you.Do you know the 5 major diseases and ailments that your son is more likely to acquire without his father (or a suitable male role model) in his life?Do you know the 4 critical skills that a father can teach his son that a mother cannot teach?Do you know the 4 characteristics that adult sons without fathers possess that put them at a disadvantage in developing relationships? These questions-and many more-are answered in this book.Whether they lose their fathers to divorce or death, or whether their fathers go to prison or abandon them at birth, or were simply never in the picture-such as in artificial insemination-boys that grow up in homes without their biological father go through childhood at a disadvantage. There are almost 9 million such sons in America. The authors believe that mothers can overcome those disadvantages with effective parenting tailored to their sons' needs. The authors are convinced that most mothers want to do what is right for their sons, and if that does not always occur, it is usually because they do not always have the right information at their fingertips. Specifically, this book was written for:?Single mothers who are raising sons without a father?Fathers of sons who are no longer in the home?Married parents contemplating divorce?Mothers with sons who have remarried?Lesbian mothers who are raising a son?Adoptive parents who are raising a son Most self-help parenting books are "bucket brigade" manuals that are written to help parents put out the fires that arise in the normal course of parenting a child. The authors do that, too, with the problems that are specific to fatherless boys, but their major focus is teaching skills that will help mothers prevent problems from ever developing.

A moving, elegantly written, and exhaustively researched account of what it means for a girl to lose a father to death or divorce—with advice for fatherless daughters on how to cope. “People who lose their parents early in life are like fellow war veterans. As soon as they discover that they are talking to someone else who has lost a parent, they know they are speaking the same language without uttering a word.” Pamela Thomas gives voice to this unspoken pain in Fatherless Daughters. Still haunted by her own father’s death when she was ten, Thomas decided to explore its effects. Though her journey began as a personal one, she soon felt the need to hear from other women and ended up interviewing more than one hundred fatherless women. They ranged in age from nineteen to ninety-four; they came from all areas of the country as well as Europe and Asia; some had lost their fathers to death, others to divorce or abandonment. Each account was unique, but the impact of a father’s loss was profound in every woman’s life. Thomas begins by defining what it means to be a father in our world. She discusses the initial shock of his loss, exploring the aspects that color how a young girl experiences it: her age at the time of her father’s death or abandonment, her mother’s behavior and attitudes, her place in the family vis-à-vis siblings, and the influence of a stepfather or father-surrogates. Thomas shows how a father’s early death or abandonment affects a woman’s emotional health and self-esteem, her body image, her sexual experiences, her marriage, her family life, and her career. Perhaps most important, Thomas offers compassionate advice for coming to terms with father loss, even late in life, from actively mourning, to healing, to starting fresh.