cover image Prodigal Father: Reuniting Fathers and Their Children

Prodigal Father: Reuniting Fathers and Their Children

Mark Bryan, Mark Byran. Clarkson N Potter Publishers, $24 (278pp) ISBN 978-0-517-70617-6

This is a timely book; the terrible effects of father absence on children and fathers alike are more widely recognized and taken more seriously now than ever before. Bryan himself fathered a child at age 17, married his son's mother and then separated from them both less than two years later. Here he recounts the story of his own tortuous journey back into his son's life after an absence of 14 years. As he tells the story, he provides a modified 12-step program to help other absentee fathers; many chapters end with checklists, assignments and self-questionnaires, and there is also an appendix to help mothers of the children involved. Although some men will be put off by the recovery-movement jargon in the book (the reader is advised to take ""gratitude walks,"" for instance), those who are prepared to make the difficult journey back into their estranged children's lives will find much practical assistance here. (June)