Last Will & Testament of Adam Carolla I, Adam Carolla, being of beaten-down mind, declare this to be my Last Will and Testament. I revoke all wills and addendums previously made by me. (You guys never did listen, anyway.) Article I I appoint the rest of the world's unappreciated dads as Personal Representatives to administer this Will. I bequeath to them the right to crack a couple cold ones in the garage after working their asses off all week and ask that they be permitted to watch all the porn they like and not have to change diapers and get dragged to every preschool "graduation" and PTA meeting. Article II To my wife, I leave a safe-deposit box, the sole content of which is a note reading "Get a job. I'm dead," and my best wishes on trying to keep up with the unending demands of our houses, cars, dog, and kids. Article III I devise, bequeath, and give my kids this book, Daddy, Stop Talking. Since you guys were the death of me, I leave you these pages of wisdom. But no cash, cars, or property. You've got to earn those. On that note, I further demand that the following message be placed on the marker of my grave: "You're All on Your Own Now. Enjoy."
A thoughtful and "utterly mind-blowing" exploration of fatherhood and masculinity in the 21st century (New York Times). There are hundreds of books on parenting, and with good reason—becoming a parent is scary, difficult, and life-changing. But when it comes to books about parenting identity, rather than the nuts and bolts of raising children, nearly all are about what it's like to be a mother. Drawing on research in sociology, economics, philosophy, gender studies, and the author's own experiences, Father Figure sets out to fill that gap. It's an exploration of the psychology of fatherhood from an archetypal perspective as well as a cultural history that challenges familiar assumptions about the origins of so-called traditional parenting roles. What paradoxes and contradictions are inherent in our common understanding of dads? Might it be time to rethink some aspects of fatherhood? Gender norms are changing, and old economic models are facing disruption. As a result, parenthood and family life are undergoing an existential transformation. And yet, the narratives and images of dads available to us are wholly inadequate for this transition. Victorian and Industrial Age tropes about fathers not only dominate the media, but also contour most people's lived experience. Father Figure offers a badly needed update to our collective understanding of fatherhood—and masculinity in general. It teaches dads how to embrace the joys of fathering while guiding them toward an image of manliness for the modern world.
Daddy, Daddy Please Stop Drinking chronicles the true life story of my personal fight from homeless alcoholic to living a life beyond my wildest dreams. My name is Dr. Robb Kelly and today I run a successful alcohol and addiction recovery business but I had to travel to hell and back to make me the man I am today. I am not sure when I crossed the line from social drinking to alcoholism, I just know I did and my life would never be the same again. I was married with children and had a great career, life could not have been better. The only problem is that I drank too much, and when I did I lost control. When I enjoyed my drinking I couldn't control it, and when I controlled my drinking I couldn't enjoy it. Finally, alcoholism gripped me hard and like most people I sank really quickly.I lost everything: my business, my home, my wife, and most importantly my two young daughters. I had a PhD from Oxford University but went from a comfortable home to homelessness and lived on the mean streets of Manchester England for a year asking for handouts to purchase liquor. While homeless, I was arrested several times, prone to blackouts that lasted for weeks, and was assaulted physically and sexually. I have had several near brushes with death, including an attempted suicide. So great was my despair of my alcoholic and addictive condition that I just wanted to die.On a cold and wet English night, I fell to my knees and begged God to help me find a way from the endless nightmare that was my existence and moments later a man carrying a bible rounded the corner and offered me a helping hand. My plea that cold night opened the door to sobriety and I found the answer I was looking for. To my amazement it had been there all along, I just had to hit rock bottom before I would accept it. Since recovering from a hopeless state of alcoholism, it has become my life mission to assist other hopeless, chronic alcoholics and addicts and educate all I could on the dangers and warning signs of alcohol and addiction. That is my purpose and my passion, to assist the still struggling alcoholic and addict recover their lives. I was an alcoholic whose symptoms and not my disease were treated every trip to hospital. My gripping story of success to failure to success proves that it's never too late to recover your life from alcoholism and addiction. Everyone had written me off as dead twenty years ago but I'm still standing and I have one hell of a story to share. If you're struggling with drug and alcohol abuse yourself or are the loved one of an alcoholic or addict, this book will inspire you to never give up hope. Today, I'm living the dream instead of dreaming to live.
My fellow Americans, President John F. Kennedy once famously said, "Hey, is that blond intern eighteen yet?" He also said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." We've changed a lot since JFK asked us all to pitch in. We've become a nation of narcissistic, yoga-mat-toting, service-dog-having, absentee dads and gluten-free, hand-wringing, hypochondriac moms of overcaffeinated (yet somehow still lazy) twerking tweens. And our government is an inept bureaucracy incapable of doing anything except getting in our wallets and in our way. We've got to get it together, America. That is why I, Adam Carolla, hereby declare myself Candidate Carolla. The tome you hold in your hands is a statement of my intent to whip our country back into fighting shape, to eliminate the "what are you going to do for me?" mentality that has invaded our country. President Me is my manifesto, my vision for a better place . . . free of Big Government, barefoot fliers, lazy hipsters who'd rather "Occupy" than work, and the other things that are bringing our country down. With my cabinet appointees, my list of worthy and necessary presidential ManDates, and tons of great ideas for fixing our health care, education, energy, and even national parks systems . . . behold an America we can be proud of. The America I see in my head. You're welcome in advance. Your future leader, Adam
When we were on a No Girls Allowed! holiday, my daddy's heart stopped beating and I had to find help all by myself. He was very badly broken. Not even the ambulance people could help him... This honest, sensitive and beautifully illustrated picture book is designed to help explain the concept of death to children aged 3+. Written in Alex's own words, it is based on the real-life conversations that Elke Barber had with her then three-year-old son, Alex, after the sudden death of his father. The book provides reassurance and understanding to readers through clear and honest answers to the difficult questions that can follow the death of a loved one, and carries the invaluable message that it is okay to be sad, but it is okay to be happy, too.
'Compassionate' Guardian 'Extremely affecting' Scotsman As a teenager, Harriet Shawcross stopped speaking at school for almost a year. As an adult, she became fascinated by the limits of language. From the inexpressible trauma of trench warfare and the aftermath of natural disaster to the taboo of coming out, Harriet examines all the ways in which words scare us. She studies wartime poet George Oppen, interviews the author of The Vagina Monologues, meets Nepalese earthquake-survivors and the founders of the Samaritans and asks what makes us silent?
The author, a computer science professor diagnosed with terminal cancer, explores his life, the lessons that he has learned, how he has worked to achieve his childhood dreams, and the effect of his diagnosis on him and his family.
A couple years back, I was at the Phoenix airport bar. It was empty except for one heavy-set, gray bearded, grizzled guy who looked like he just rode his donkey into town after a long day of panning for silver in them thar hills. He ordered a Jack Daniels straight up, and that's when I overheard the young guy with the earring behind the bar asking him if he had ID. At first the old sea captain just laughed. But the guy with the twinkle in his ear asked again. At this point it became apparent that he was serious. Dan Haggerty's dad fired back, "You've got to be kidding me, son." The bartender replied, "New policy. Everyone has to show their ID." Then I watched Burl Ives reluctantly reach into his dungarees and pull out his military identification card from World War II. It's a sad and eerie harbinger of our times that the Oprah-watching, crystal-rubbing, Whole Foods-shopping moms and their whipped attorney husbands have taken the ability to reason away from the poor schlub who makes the Bloody Marys. What we used to settle with common sense or a fist, we now settle with hand sanitizer and lawyers. Adam Carolla has had enough of this insanity and he's here to help us get our collective balls back. In Fifty Years We'll All Be Chicks is Adam's comedic gospel of modern America. He rips into the absurdity of the culture that demonized the peanut butter and jelly sandwich, turned the nation's bathrooms into a lawless free-for-all of urine and fecal matter, and put its citizens at the mercy of a bunch of minimum wagers with axes to grind. Peppered between complaints Carolla shares candid anecdotes from his day to day life as well as his past—Sunday football at Jimmy Kimmel's house, his attempts to raise his kids in a society that he mostly disagrees with, his big showbiz break, and much, much more. Brilliantly showcasing Adam's spot-on sense of humor, this book cements his status as a cultural commentator/comedian/complainer extraordinaire.
One day motivational leader Greg Wright realized that the four set of pretty young eyes under his own roof were looking to Dad to be strong, fearless, and wise. The reality was, the lone male in an all-girl household ("heck, even the dog was female") was only thirty years old and felt like he had been shoved into the deep end of the estrogen pool without swimming lessons. That's when the love-struck father of four gorgeous pre-teens started searching for a plan for how to be a successful Dad, and did what any sensible guy would do. He bailed. Not only on his family, but into the woods, to seek a "solution." Daddy Dates is an entertaining and practical look at how one American father found his sea legs and is navigating through the tricky waters of parenting girls. In this game-changing book, Greg shares his easy-to-follow secrets for how married and single dads can go beyond high-fiving to bridge the gender gap and become the clued-in man who knows his daughter best. Dads have more influence on their girls than anyone. Learn what makes your daughter tick, how to talk to her effectively and connect more profoundly, at any age. If being their hero is your mission, it's not impossible. Daddy Dates is your road map to get there. "Hi honey. It's Daddy. I'm calling to see if you'd like to go on a date with me tonight." "Um, yes, Daddy I think I would." It's a phone call Greg Wright has made over and over again. By age thirty, Greg was the overwhelmed father of four beautiful little girls, with one thought running through his mind over and over again: Don't Screw Up. Daddy Dates is about a guy taking his best shot at being a successful dad by trying to know his girls?really know their fears, dreams, and opinions?and how he stumbled across an incredible strategy to do that with daughters of any age or stage. This funny, insightful, and relatable book poses the wildly original concept that should be a "duh" for most dads?but isn't. In order to raise a confident woman-to-be, show your daughter what it feels like to be treated with love, respect, and true interest by a man who loves her. Daddy Dates is not another "how to" book from a parenting expert. It's a personal, eye-opening, often humorous look at an Average Joe's intentional pursuit of his daughter's hearts and minds, and the love-inspired steps he is taking to solidify Dad's place in each of their lives, forever. Whether married or single, Daddy Dates can help you better connect with virtually all of the females in your life. Using Greg's communication cues, you'll be blown away by what you'll learn about your child, and how you can make a powerful, lasting difference?especially during her rocky teenage years. Daddy Dates is about one thing?becoming her hero?one date at a time. Endorsements: –Matt Crossman, Senior Writer for SPORTING NEWS magazine (and father of 2 daughters) DADDY DATES wondrously focuses men (and the women who love them) on the affirmation & empowerment a father’s creative attention, energy, and love can have on the precious daughters in our lives. –Jan Goldstein, bestselling author of THE BRIDE WILL KEEP HER NAME (and father of 3) It’s an easy thing to say that any father with a daughter should read this book. But, the truth
