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.

The impact of absent fathers on sons in the black community has been a subject for cultural critics and sociologists who often deal in anonymous data. Yet many of those sons have themselves addressed the issue in autobiographical works that form the core of African American literature. A Fatherless Child examines the impact of fatherlessness on racial and gender identity formation as seen in black men’s autobiographies and in other constructions of black fatherhood in fiction. Through these works, Tara T. Green investigates what comes of abandonment by a father and loss of a role model by probing a son’s understanding of his father’s struggles to define himself and the role of community in forming the son’s quest for self-definition in his father’s absence. Closely examining four works—Langston Hughes’s The Big Sea, Richard Wright’s Black Boy, Malcolm X’s The Autobiography of Malcolm X, and Barack Obama’s Dreams from My Father—Green portrays the intersecting experiences of generations of black men during the twentieth century both before and after the Civil Rights movement. These four men recall feeling the pressure and responsibility of caring for their mothers, resisting public displays of care, and desiring a loving, noncontentious relationship with their fathers. Feeling vulnerable to forces they may have identified as detrimental to their status as black men, they use autobiography as a tool for healing, a way to confront that vulnerability and to claim a lost power associated with their lost fathers. Through her analysis, Green emphasizes the role of community as a father-substitute in producing successful black men, the impact of fatherlessness on self-perceptions and relationships with women, and black men’s engagement with healing the pain of abandonment. She also looks at why these four men visited Africa to reclaim a cultural history and identity, showing how each developed a clearer understanding of himself as an American man of African descent. A Fatherless Child conveys important lessons relevant to current debates regarding the status of African American families in the twenty-first century. By showing us four black men of different eras, Green asks readers to consider how much any child can heal from fatherlessness to construct a positive self-image—and shows that, contrary to popular perceptions, fatherlessness need not lead to certain failure.

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

Based on the feature film of the same name, The Father Effect is a must-read for the millions of men and women who have lost their fathers through divorce, death, or disinterest. John Finch always struggled after his father committed suicide when he was eleven, but it wasn't until he was raising his own three daughters that he truly understood their futures relied on his coming to terms with his difficult past. To move forward, he needed to forgive both his father for choosing to leave, and himself for not being the best father he could be. This journey led to The Father Effect, a book containing practical help for anyone, man or woman, with a deep father wound from losing a dad through divorce, death, or disinterest. Through positive lessons on forgiveness and approachable advice on how to change your legacy as a parent, partner, and person, The Father Effect is the ultimate healing tool for anyone who has suffered the absence of a dad.

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

A significant amount of research has been done on families and their dynamics. There has been an emphasis on the effects of parental absence in much of today's research. This book discusses the specific phenomenon of paternal absence in a male's life and, in particular, the male's own perception of the role their father's absence played in the male's life. The study gathered the ideas and understandings of nine male participants regarding each of their fathers; and examined the individual male's thoughts and feelings regarding their father in a qualitative manner. It addresses how such perceptions were developed and how they currently manifest, with the attempt to focus on individual understandings of their father's absence. As a result of each individual examination, the following questions were raised: how does a child's positive, negative, or neutral perception of an absent father develop, and is such perception relevant to the manner or reason for their father's absence? The findings included an emphasis on the importance of perception rather than situation. It suggests clinical implications for individuals who were raised without a father, such as exploration of feelings/perception of their father, working on changing faulty perceptions and identifying defenses that are used to cope.

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.

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 this book was written for you. What are 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? What are the 4 critical skills that a father can teach his son that a mother cannot teach? What are 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. * Married mothers 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. Sons who grow up without fathers have different needs, different experiences, and different life expectations from sons who grow up with fathers, and those differences begin in childhood and continue throughout life. Sons with fathers, absent physical or emotional abuse in the family, usually grow up to consider the world to be a friendly place with potential for great good. Without special parenting by their mothers, sons without fathers invariably see the world as an unfriendly place with potential for great harm. Mardi Allen, Ph.D. and James L. Dickerson are co-authors of "How to Screen Adoptive and Foster Parents: A Workbook for Professionals and Students" and "The Basics of Adoption: A Guide for Building Families in the U.S. and Canada." Dr. Allen is a psychologist who counsels families in private practice, clinical liaison for the Mississippi Department of Mental Health, and a former president of the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards. Dickerson is a social work innovator who has developed new programs such as the Foster Parent Syndrome, a screening procedure for selecting adoptive and foster parents, and "You've Got a Friend," a federally funded socialization program for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In addition, he is the author of two health-related books, "Cirrhosis: An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed" and "Yellow Fever: A Deadly Disease Poised to Kill Again."

In the tradition of Thomas Moore, Jungian analyst and lecturer Guy Corneau delivers a hopeful message that will help us move beyond the gender wars to a new era of personal fulfillment. With engaging anecdotes and mythical references, he instructs us to look into ourselves and create our own guiding principles. He then suggests how we can achieve our aspirations through meaningful relationships with those who challenge us to test and fulfill them.