War and Peace. There Will Be Blood. One Hundred Years of Solitude. All wry recommendations that seasoned fathers may feel are emblematic of pregnancy, delivery and then those first few years in the trenches.
All jokes aside, given that new dads have existed for years and the dearth of literature for dads-to-be, the above as suggestions may not have been so humorous as they were desperate.
These days though, dad-lit is a genre in itself. There are countless guide books, memoirs, medical texts and more out there all geared toward first-time and veteran fathers, and we’ve put together a few of our favorite below to help you get to grips with one of the most rewarding, yet challenging acts in the journey of life (and also so you don’t have to resort to And Then There Were None).
The Baby Owner’s Manual: Operating Instructions, Trouble-Shooting Tips, and Advice on First-Year Maintenance by Dr. Louis Borgenicht and Joe Borgenicht
Though a card-carrying member of dad-lit that all too many fathers find vomit-worthy, The Baby Owner’s Manual has a hilariously refreshing take on delivering tips, giving explanations and providing advice. Written like an instruction manual for a new, hot tech product (complete with laugh-out-loud funny schematics), the guide is ultimately incredibly useful, approachable and easy to understand. In short, it’s a great resource for first-time fathers who just need some info on the basics.
Rad Dad: Dispatches from the Frontiers of Fatherhood edited by Jeremy Adam Smith and Tomas Moniz
Fusing together the crème-of-the-crop contributions from award-winning zine Rad Dad and popular parenting blog Daddy Dialectic, this collection of easily digestible and largely progressive (even radical) contributions explores parenting as political territory in modern America. Throughout the anthology, feminist fathers share personal stories of child-rearing; alterna-dads give us their accounts of bringing up a little one in the face of racism, incarceration and homophobia; and a sperm donor even details the emotion behind his donation. A great read for dads that do double duty as leftists, anarchists or general anti-establishment thinkers.
Fatherhood: Rising to the Ultimate Challenge by Etan Thomas
A far more thoughtful version of the dad primers that equate fatherhood with sports, former Washington Wizards forward Etan Thomas’s inspirational meditation not only gives readers personal insight into his own journey but also unabashedly investigates the intersection of parenthood and race. Alongside Thomas’s story of his childhood in a single-parent household and then his account as a father himself, the work features advice and words of wisdom from a broad cross-section of famous actors, politicians and sportsmen, like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Taye Diggs and Howard Dean.
What to Expect When Your Wife is Expanding by Thomas Hill
What initially started out as a parody to the classic What to Expect When You’re Expecting has become somewhat of an institution itself. Revised and updated in 2012, Thomas Hill’s humorous, man-centric breakdown of the nine months in the run-up to childbirth now not only sheds some light on the standard questions surrounding pregnancy but also delves into the mysterious world of baby-geared technological and medical advances. This is one of the ultimate dude books about pregnancy — written by a dude.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
A great but dark read for those soon-to-be or new dads allergic to non-fiction, Cormac McCarthy’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel delves into the profound bond that develops between a father and son on their quest for survival in a post-apocalyptic, cannibalistic world. The heart-breaking and harrowing story was inspired by the author’s 11-year-old son (at the time of writing), and later, it was even reported that the tale was based on real conversations between the two. Few works of fiction have more aptly encapsulated just what kind of sacrifice dads are willing to make for their kids.
Do you think you can add to the list? We want to hear your suggestions in the comments or on social media — join the conversation on Facebook or Twitter.
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