Title: Useful and profound
Product review: The Good Father is a life-changing book. Using real lives and real stories (including his own), O'Connell shows men (and women) coming to terms with their pasts as they embark on the project of becoming good parents. The book avoids prefab advice; instead we get detailed examples and straight talk on hard matters. The writer tackles all the big topics, from discipline (spank? don't spank?) to the challenges that time, and teenagers, represent. Especially useful is the frank discussion of aggression and eroticism in family life; O'Connell makes the point that physical contact is necessary and important, in the right ways, at the right times, between fathers and their children. The stories are compelling, beautifully written, and informed by a deep respect for the complex realities of people's lives. You can learn more about being a good father from this book than any laundry list of do's and don'ts will ever teach you.
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