Working Class Dad is the type of book I wish I had when I first became a father twenty years ago. It is truly a manual for fatherhood. There is a mindset presented that allows a father to give his child the freedom to not be held back by a standard of thinking their main objective is to create pride in the heart of his or her father. I've spoken with countless broken people who only ever wanted to make their father proud. My aim is to show fathers that this is the wrong target to place in the sights of a child. The true measure of a father isn't how a situation defines him, but in how he defines the situation. I present a perspective that can apply for any father, whether in service to our military, whether going through divorce, whether lost or found, whether just starting out, or whether closing down shop. I truly kept all situations in perspective as I penned from my heart. Book excerpt -- Last year over the summer I found myself emerged in business travel and it brought me near some unbelievable destinations. I have a personal rule to not just stay in the room on travel, but I believe you should always go explore if you have the time. So, over that spectacular month I experienced the sunrise over the prolific mountain range of the Swiss Alps while I was cruising on the Autobahn, the sun setting in the living panoramic painting of the Yosemite Valley, looked up from underneath the Giant Sequoias in the Valley of the Giants, I walked the streets of Strasbourg in all of its full spring beauty and vibrant colors, and felt the mist and power from the millions of gallons of water churning over the edge of Niagara Falls. While taking in all these marvelous sights and experiences, I thought to myself these must be moments of sheer inspiration. But were they? Yes, I left in complete awe and felt something I couldn't quite put in the adequacy of words. But I didn't invent anything that impacts the experience of humanity or discover any new cures for detrimental health conditions common to humanity upon my return. Maybe that only happens in movies. Finding the true definition amongst scholars and psychologists of inspiration is a little more complicated that it first appears on the surface. There are many good studies done on the topic, but it seems safe to say from the life experience of most of us, inspiration comes from an experience, a thing, or a person. Inspiration at the heart involves an action that propelled us to an action. And fundamentally in reference to what we consider marginally great. It is not hard to find in most organizations today, people teaching about leadership and trying to call out the "greatness" in their employees, students, or religious organizations. With the intrinsic questions revolving around better performance, labeled in "greatness". The way I am defining greatness is to bring out the best in an individual for the greater cause of the group or organization. Solidarity and understanding of greatness are defined by the individual and only sought once there has been a realization of value and gain that....The book defines a pragmatic approach with passion and balance to be the father you never knew you could be, no matter your situation. You'll find insights not only from my own personally relatable experiences but also perspectives from culturally relevant topics and recognizable individuals that create new and genuine consideration for the responsibilities we have as working fathers. All of the hard-earned content proposed serves to build a structure and mindset for the implementation of my greatest secret for success as a father; which is revealed in the final chapters of the book. I have discovered and implemented a way to connect with your children to produce the long-lasting relationships that create unbreakable bonds. One secret that is so treasured, I specially requested permission from my five children to share. And with their obvious approval, I present Working Class Dad.

WINNER OF THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD A poignant and moving account of the author’s search for the man his father was and the life he led as a well-known footballer, blending the personal and the historical into an unforgettable story Stewart Imlach was an ordinary neighbourhood soccer star of his time. A brilliant winger who thrilled the crowd on Saturdays, then worked alongside them in the off-season; who represented Scotland in the 1958 World Cup and never received a cap for his efforts; who was Man of the Match for Nottingham Forest in the 1959 FA Cup Final, and was rewarded with the standard offer - £20 a week, take it or leave it. Gary Imlach grew up a privileged insider at Goodison Park when Stewart moved into coaching. He knew the highlights of his father's career by heart. But when his dad died he realised they were all he knew. He began to realise, too, that he'd lost the passion for football that his father had passed down to him. In this book he faces his growing alienation from the game he was born into, as he revisits key periods in his father's career to build up a picture of his football life - and through him a whole era. ‘The most emotionally charged and moving sports book I've ever read’ Daily Mail

You can have a successful career and be the dad you want to be. Finally, we've moved past the days when providing for your family meant taking a backseat role in your children's lives. Still, many of us aren't finding the support and flexibility we need, and the time-management challenge of performing at work while being a present dad at home can feel impossible. Advice for Working Dads will help you balance and integrate your career and fatherhood, navigate always-on work cultures, and find success and fulfillment in one of the toughest—and most important—jobs you’ll ever take on. You'll learn to: Set reasonable expectations and limits Carve out quality time for family, even when you're at your busiest Stay true to yourself, your friends, and your personal interests Communicate better with your spouse or partner about careers, parenting, and chores Model your work and life values for your children The HBR Working Parents Series with Daisy Dowling, Series Editor, supports readers as you anticipate challenges, learn how to advocate for yourself more effectively, juggle your impossible schedule, and find fulfillment at home and at work. Whether you're up with a newborn or planning the future with your teen, you'll find the practical tips, strategies, and research you need to make working parenthood work for you.

"I recommend a book by Professor Williams, it is really worth a read, it's called White Working Class." -- Vice President Joe Biden on Pod Save America An Amazon Best Business and Leadership book of 2017 Around the world, populist movements are gaining traction among the white working class. Meanwhile, members of the professional elite—journalists, managers, and establishment politicians--are on the outside looking in, left to argue over the reasons. In White Working Class, Joan C. Williams, described as having "something approaching rock star status" by the New York Times, explains why so much of the elite's analysis of the white working class is misguided, rooted in class cluelessness. Williams explains that many people have conflated "working class" with "poor"--but the working class is, in fact, the elusive, purportedly disappearing middle class. They often resent the poor and the professionals alike. But they don't resent the truly rich, nor are they particularly bothered by income inequality. Their dream is not to join the upper middle class, with its different culture, but to stay true to their own values in their own communities--just with more money. While white working-class motivations are often dismissed as racist or xenophobic, Williams shows that they have their own class consciousness. White Working Class is a blunt, bracing narrative that sketches a nuanced portrait of millions of people who have proven to be a potent political force. For anyone stunned by the rise of populist, nationalist movements, wondering why so many would seemingly vote against their own economic interests, or simply feeling like a stranger in their own country, White Working Class will be a convincing primer on how to connect with a crucial set of workers--and voters.

Everything you need to have a successful career and be the dad you want to be. Finally, we've moved past the days when providing for your family meant taking a backseat role in your children's lives. Still, many working dads aren't finding the support and flexibility they need, and the time-management challenge of performing at work while being a present dad at home can feel impossible. The HBR Working Dads Collection can help you manage this tension. Drawing on the wisdom of world-class experts and parents alike, it provides practical advice on the topics most important to those who want to be great fathers and have impactful careers. The six books in this set—Advice for Working Dads, Getting It All Done, Managing Your Career, Taking Care of Yourself, Communicate Better with Everyone, and Two-Career Families—will teach you how to transition into your new role as a working father, communicate effectively with your employer and your family, prioritize time to address your personal needs, and navigate being part of a two-career family. There's no one simple answer or foolproof tip to make working fatherhood easy, but the strategies in this collection can help set you on a path toward finding success, both in your career and as a dad. The HBR Working Parents Series with Daisy Dowling, Series Editor, supports readers as you anticipate challenges, learn how to advocate for yourself more effectively, juggle your impossible schedule, and find fulfillment at home and at work. Whether you're up with a newborn or planning the future with your teen, you'll find the practical tips, strategies, and research you need to make working parenthood work for you.

All parents experience stress as they attempt to meet the challenges of caring for their children. This comprehensive book examines the causes and consequences of parenting distress, drawing on a wide array of findings in current empirical research. Kirby Deater-Deckard explores normal and pathological parenting stress, the influences of parents on their children as well as children on their parents, and the effects of biological and environmental factors. Beginning with an overview of theories of stress and coping, Deater-Deckard goes on to describe how parenting stress is linked with problems in adult and child health (emotional problems, developmental disorders, illness); parental behaviors (warmth, harsh discipline); and factors outside the family (marital quality, work roles, cultural influences). The book concludes with a useful review of coping strategies and interventions that have been demonstrated to alleviate parenting stress.

A revealing look at stay-at-home fatherhood-for men, their families, and for American society It's a growing phenomenon among American families: fathers who cut back on paid work to focus on raising children. But what happens when dads stay home? What do stay-at-home fathers struggle with-and what do they rejoice in? How does taking up the mother's traditional role affect a father's relationship with his partner, children, and extended family? And what does stay-at-home fatherhood mean for the larger society? In chapters that alternate between large-scale analysis and intimate portraits of men and their families, journalist Jeremy Adam Smith traces the complications, myths, psychology, sociology, and history of a new set of social relationships with far-reaching implications. As the American economy faces its greatest crisis since the Great Depression, Smith reveals that many mothers today have the ability to support families and fathers are no longer narrowly defined by their ability to make money-they have the capacity to be caregivers as well. The result, Smith argues, is a startling evolutionary advance in the American family, one that will help families better survive the twenty-first century. As Smith explains, stay-at-home dads represent a logical culmination of fifty years of family change, from a time when the idea of men caring for children was literally inconceivable, to a new era when at-home dads are a small but growing part of the landscape. Their numbers and cultural importance will continue to rise-and Smith argues that they must rise, as the unstable, global, creative, technological economy makes flexible gender roles both more possible and more desirable. But the stories of real people form the heart of this book: couples from every part of the country and every walk of life. They range from working class to affluent, and they are black, white, Asian, and Latino. We meet Chien, who came to Kansas City as a refugee from the Vietnam War and today takes care of a growing family; Kent, a midwestern dad who nursed his son through life-threatening disabilities (and Kent's wife, Misun, who has never doubted for a moment that breadwinning is the best thing she can do for her family); Ta-Nehisi, a writer in Harlem who sees involved fatherhood as "the ultimate service to black people"; Michael, a gay stay-at-home dad in Oakland who enjoys a profoundly loving and egalitarian partnership with his husband; and many others. Through their stories, we discover that as America has evolved and diversified, so has fatherhood.