My Old Man: Tales of Our Fathers
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By Ted Kessler, and and,
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1 review
If you were asked to write about your father, what would you say?
No two paternal relationships are the same. Every experience, every bond, is unique. And whether happy or sad, fond or fraught, the memories and stories we have about our dads stay with us for ever.
In this carefully curated collection, a dazzling list of contributors – including Florence Welch, Paul Weller, Nina Stibbe and the sons and daughters of Ian Dury, Johnny Ball, Roy Castle, Leonard Cohen and many others – open up, some for the first time, about their paternal experiences. From the heart-rending to the tragic, from expressions of joyful love to a quick snapshot of a life, these beautifully written pieces are also deeply personal. As universal as it is powerful, My Old Man offers a unique opportunity to reflect on our own relationships with our dads.
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"Contributors from the arts and entertainments world write about their fathers, some of whom were/are celebrities themselves. We are treated to a brief insight into their relationships. Some are just distant memories from happy or dysfunctional childhoods. Others look deeper into the father-son/daughter connection. Each chapter’s style is as different from the father portrayed which makes for a varied read. The one thing all the stories do is make you think about your relationship with your own father. I think this will appeal to many people because the stories span generations and even the lesser known contributors or stories of the less controversial fathers draw you in. A book you can dip in and out of."
"A hugely entertaining read, enhanced by the fact that the fathers mentioned are all well-known. This book has humour, sadness, compassion – the ability to evoke many different emotions, any reader would find something to identify with I am sure."
"Should appeal to everyone in some way what with the Dad’s written about being famous or less so, all having to be dads, for better or for worse, they have left their mark because they were a father, makes you reflect on what being a father is and what fathers mean."
