Becoming a parent can be daunting . . . terrifying, in fact. This is especially true for dads. Where’s the road map? Well, you’re looking at it. This book from the editors of Fatherly, the largest digital brand for dads, is a one-stop source for fathers-to-be, empowering them to be the best parent they can be--with both confidence and joy. New fathers grapple with both practical and existential questions: Is my baby supposed to do that? How do I afford to make my family thrive? How does swaddling work again? Who am I, and what kind of dad will I become? Fatherhood is here to answer all of these questions and more. This comprehensive guide walks fathers through everything they need to know--practically, emotionally, and philosophically--over the course of the first year of a baby’s life. The content is divided by developmental stage: Pregnancy up to birth Infancy (the first 500 days) Toddlerhood (days 500 to 1,000) By offering data, anecdotes, and expert-driven analysis, the authors prep dads for what’s ahead, letting them know they’re not alone on their journey. Fatherhood is the book every father and father-to-be needs.

In 1992 I had a car accident and was paralyzed from the waist down. At the time my daughter was 2 months old. The night of the accident, I knew that I was supposed to die but He kept me. It's hard to put words around it yet I know it to be true. Wow! My life had changed in an instant. I realized quickly that this was not a dream. I was in midst of my toughest challenge. I was totally overwhelmed by the awesome task that lay before me, but in this vast amount of confusion the victory rested just beyond the horizon. I could not clearly see the victory, but I felt it at the core of my inner being. This was the inception of a cataclysmic boom in my soul that caused a magnetic connection between these disconnected chapters that made up my life. The stars lined up and I smelled clarity. My internal compass pointed to "be a father." I never intended to tell my story, but I did. My story is a reflection of my past and more importantly how it motivated me to be the dad I never had. I open this story on the night of my car accident where I was paralyzed. The first chapter I titled a Dimly Lit Room. The only real thing that I remember about that night was the horrendous sound of demolished metal during impact of a car accident at 75th and Outlook in Boulder, Colorado. I was on my way home. It was late, and I was tired. At the time I was an IBM computer programmer, working 60-hour weeks on a major project that was behind schedule. It was tough because I had left my wife and child in New York during the holidays to come back to Colorado early and continue working on the project. I had spent the evening with a friend of mine at one of the more popular nightspots in central Denver and climbed into my Volkswagen Jetta to make the 30-mile trip to my home in Boulder. My Life's story starts from the inner city of East Oakland, California in the belly of the beast. My father left my mom when I was 6 months old. When I was 12 years old my aunt taught me to play golf. I fell in

We've all heard that a father's involvement enriches the lives of children. But how much have we heard about how having a child affects a father's life? As Peter Gray and Kermyt Anderson reveal, fatherhood actually alters a man's sexuality, rewires his brain, and changes his hormonal profile. His very health may suffer—in the short run—and improve in the long. These are just a few aspects of the scientific side of fatherhood explored in this book, which deciphers the findings of myriad studies and makes them accessible to the interested general reader. Since the mid-1990s Anderson and Gray, themselves fathers of young children, have been studying paternal behavior in places as diverse as Boston, Albuquerque, Cape Town, Kenya, and Jamaica. Their work combines the insights of evolutionary and comparative biology, cross-cultural analysis, and neural physiology to deepen and expand our understanding of fatherhood—from the intense involvement in childcare seen in male hunter-gatherers, to the prodigality of a Genghis Khan leaving millions of descendants, to the anonymous sperm donor in a fertility clinic. Looking at every kind of fatherhood—being a father in and out of marriage, fathering from a distance, stepfathering, and parenting by gay males—this book presents a uniquely detailed picture of how being a parent fits with men's broader social and work lives, how fatherhood evolved, and how it differs across cultures and through time.

Matt Logelin writes a courageous and searingly honest memoir about the first year of his life following the birth of his daughter and the death of his wife. Matt and Liz Logelin were high school sweethearts. After years of long-distance dating, the pair finally settled together in Los Angeles, and they had it all: a perfect marriage, a gorgeous new home, and a baby girl on the way. Liz's pregnancy was rocky, but they welcomed Madeline, beautiful and healthy, into the world. Just twenty-seven hours later, Liz suffered a pulmonary embolism and died instantly, without ever holding the daughter whose arrival she had so eagerly awaited. Though confronted with devastating grief and the responsibilities of a new and single father, Matt did not surrender to devastation; he chose to keep moving forward-to make a life for Maddy. In this memoir, Matt shares bittersweet and often humorous anecdotes of his courtship and marriage to Liz; of relying on his newborn daughter for the support that she unknowingly provided; and of the extraordinary online community of strangers who have become his friends. In honoring Liz's legacy, heartache has become solace.

Across the political spectrum, unwed fatherhood is denounced as one of the leading social problems of today. Doing the Best I Can is a strikingly rich, paradigm-shifting look at fatherhood among inner-city men often dismissed as “deadbeat dads.” Kathryn Edin and Timothy J. Nelson examine how couples in challenging straits come together and get pregnant so quickly—without planning. The authors chronicle the high hopes for forging lasting family bonds that pregnancy inspires, and pinpoint the fatal flaws that often lead to the relationship’s demise. They offer keen insight into a radical redefinition of family life where the father-child bond is central and parental ties are peripheral. Drawing on years of fieldwork, Doing the Best I Can shows how mammoth economic and cultural changes have transformed the meaning of fatherhood among the urban poor. Intimate interviews with more than 100 fathers make real the significant obstacles faced by low-income men at every step in the familial process: from the difficulties of romantic relationships, to decision-making dilemmas at conception, to the often celebratory moment of birth, and finally to the hardships that accompany the early years of the child's life, and beyond.

In Fatherhood, beloved NBA player, poet, children’s advocate, and devoted dad Etan Thomas speaks from his heart on what matters most in his life: being there for his children. As a leading participant in President Obama’s Fatherhood Initiative, Etan has reached out to young men (often young fathers) in the juvenile detention system and in local communities. He knows firsthand the difference having a father in your life every day can make. Now he brings together a chorus of voices to weigh in on the importance of being a father in our nation today and to share what they’ve learned from being a father, having a father, or in some cases not having a father around. With Original Essays and Poems from Taye Diggs • Kareem Abdul-Jabbar • Malcolm-Jamal Warner • Ice Cube • Howard Dean • Tony Hawk • Isaiah Washington • Yao Ming • Al Sharpton • John King • Lamman Rucker • Derek Fisher • Kevin Durant • Russ Parr • Michael Moore • Chuck D • Malcolm Shabazz • Talem Acey • Will Downing • Chris Paul • Allan Houston • Talib Kweli • Black Ice • Cornel West • Elijah Cummings • Mumia Abu-Jamal • Grant Hill • Coach John Thompson • Roland Martin • Joakim Noah • Arn Tellum • Damian Marley • Abiodune Oyewole • Styles P • Baron Davis • David Aldridge • Stuart Scott • Dave Zirin • Kevin Powell • John Carlos • Derrick Coleman • J. Ivy • Joe Johnson • Al Horford • Pastor John Jenkins • Julian Thomas • Ed Gordon Jr. • Tito Puente Jr. • Billy Hunter • 13 of Nazareth • Messiah Ramkissoon Through these inspiring personal experiences, Etan and the men he’s gathered together hope to share the message that by standing up and taking an active role as fathers, men not only find their own lives more joyful and fulfilling—they pass on to the next generation an unshakable legacy of love, wisdom, responsibility, and strength.