Amazon.com (ISBN 0517706172, Hardcover)

Given our cultural blinders, it's easy to forget that fathering is just as challenging and rewarding as mothering. The trials and triumphs of single mothers especially have received a great deal of attention. But what about men who have had to leave their children behind? With no space to grieve, no way to recover their soul or regroup the fragments of their lives, absent fathers often spiral into years of inaction, leaving themselves and their children disconnected and in need. Mark Bryan, director of the Father Project in Massachusetts, recognizes this need (having experienced it himself), and wrote The Prodigal Father out of concern for the effects of the damaged parental relationship on both parties involved. Bryan shares his heart-wrenching story of abandoning, and then reuniting with, his own son, as well as the stories of many other men who have each endured heartbreak and struggle to regain a role in their children's lives. As coauthor of The Artist's Way, Bryan knows how to bridge the gap between self-help advice and practical action. Each chapter contains specific exercises and activities designed to move dads closer to their kids; aerobic physical activity, silence, and writing all have a place. There's no sugar coating--prodigal fathers must work prodigiously to rediscover their children. The rewards, though, as delightfully described herein, beat winning the lottery. --Rob Lightner