Motherhood - The word evokes warm images of comforter, nurturer, healer and giver of unconditional love. Fatherhood, on the other hand, summons more stalwart visions of protector, provider and purveyor of wisdom. A father’s love, though just as strong and reliable, is not always wholly captured or conveyed with quite as much emotion.
We embarked on this project three years ago because we wanted to try and capture the elusive essence of fatherhood in all its myriad forms. Often misunderstood, the relationships between fathers and their children are many times more difficult to define than the bond mothers form with their offspring. In the course of this journey, we found that fathers, too, can be comforters, nurturers and healers. They can be comedians, coaches, leaders and teachers of life’s greatest lessons.
Each contributor to this book writes of someone touched and transformed by fatherhood. Many of the stories were written by fathers, but you’ll also find insights from sons, daughters and grandchildren who have felt, understood, and have been changed for the better because of the love of a father.
Perhaps some of the stories will help you to better appreciate the vital role you play as father; others may give you new ideas on how to express love to your family. Yet others may touch a place in your heart and awaken a truth hidden about the depth of love your own father harbors for you.
We were enchanted and enlightened by these stories, and we hope that you will be, too. We discovered that even though some fathers don’t express their feelings verbally, they experience just as much emotion, and at times even more deeply, than mothers. Fatherhood is filled with incidences of pain and healing, confusion and insight, tears and laughter. It is indeed unconditional love, but in a different flavor than motherhood. It is this quiet celebration of the father’s soul that we have sought to bring you.
- Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Jeff Aubery, and Mark and Chrissy Donnelly