The New Fatherhood: Why Everything They Told You About Being a Dad Is Wrong and How Embracing It Will Transform Your Life

In this refreshing debut guide, Maguire, creator of the Substack newsletter The New Fatherhood, upends traditional notions of fatherhood as a “side quest” to “life’s main plotline.” He lays out a philosophy that sees fatherhood as a chance to “be better: for our kids, for loved ones, and for ourselves,” suggesting, for example, that dads focus on managing their feelings rather than controlling their kids’ behavior. Doing so, he writes, makes it easier to navigate daily crises while modeling appropriate emotional responses for one’s children. Other chapters discuss embracing personal vulnerabilities, getting comfortable with not having all the answers, separating professional identity from self-worth, and even considering psychedelics like psilocybin as possible treatments for mental health problems. Maguire is a smart and self-aware guide, candid about personal challenges like his struggle with paternal postpartum depression, and full of practical tips for reframing tough situations. (Readers can get through tedious parenting tasks by reflecting that it might be the last time they’re doing it, which boosts gratitude.) This will resonate with modern dads frustrated with outmoded parenting advice. (May)