I Wish My Dad: The Power of Vulnerable Conversations between Fathers and Sons
""I Wish My Dad . . ."" what a simple way to start a sentence. But those four words hold the power to heal wounds men may not even know they carry.
From author, speaker, and social entrepreneur Romal Tune and his son, Jordan, comes this tour de force for fathers and sons about healing the unfinished business between them. What do sons wish they had received from their fathers? What might honest, healing conversations between fathers and sons look like?
Tune was raised mostly without a father. He and his dad connected briefly when he was a teenager, and then had no relationship for decades. After years of inner work via therapy and faith, Tune realized that neither he nor his dad possessed what they needed to live up to each other's expectations. He began to wonder if other men also longed to have vulnerable conversations with their fathers--about good memories, about pain, and about what their relationship could still become.
So he sat down with seventeen men of diverse ages, ethnicities, and socioeconomic backgrounds for ""I Wish My Dad"" conversations. In the pages of this book, he invites us into the room as the men unpack relationships with their fathers, learn to work through emotional pain, recount moments of tenderness and care, and describe risks they took to heal and connect with their fathers. Tune also offers us strategies and prompts for initiating our own ""I Wish My Dad"" conversations. And with no pretense, he and Jordan recount their own ""I Wish My Dad"" interview, which helped them chart the way toward a transformed relationship.
I Wish My Dad helps fathers, and their sons move through the past to find deep connection in the present. The lessons in these pages will free us to have--and become--the kind of dad we wish for.
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"These thoughtful conversations offer a powerful look at "the cycle" of toxic masculinity." --Publishers Weekly
"As a father and the product of a fatherless home, I can say: this book is gold. We need tools, roadmaps, and sage wisdom to become who we were made to be and reinvest in the next generation. The heartfelt transparency of the stories in I Wish My Dad gives men permission to share their truth, heal, and learn the emotional skills needed for healthy father-and-son relationships." --LeCrae, Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist and New York Times bestselling author
"Healthy and vulnerable spaces for men and their sons are a necessity in today's culture. The stories shared by fathers and sons in I Wish My Dad allow readers a glimpse into the emotional needs of men that few rarely get to express. This book shares truths that need to be heard." --David Michael Wyatt, singer and songwriter
"I Wish My Dad serves as the model for men to have conversations, leading to healing and strengthening of father-and-son relationships that will have a positive impact for generations." --Nicole L. Cammack, PhD, licensed clinical psychologist, and president and CEO of Black Mental Wellness
"Romal Tune's authenticity and genuine desire to be a better father combined with the strength and courage of his son, gives us a powerful, honest, humble and hopeful invitation to become better together through honesty, openness and love. The stories shared by men in this book will change your life and your relationships." --Danielle Strickland, author, speaker, and advocate
"Vulnerability is a contagious cure. Tune models that with every page in this book. I Wish My Dad has the potential to cure us from our despair and free us to hope again." --John Onwuchekwa, pastor of Cornerstone Church and co-founder of Portrait Coffee
"I Wish My Dad is more than a right-on-time read; it is an invitation for fathers and sons to be the curators of the change they are seeking to see in themselves and in their families. The stories in this love-offering of a book will help to heal hearts, homes, and relationships between fathers and sons." --Shawn Dove, founder of Corporation for Black Male Achievement and managing partner of New Profit
"I Wish My Dad is emotional, insightful, humbling, palatable, challenging, and needed; you will come away not only rooting for these men, but believing there is hope for yourself." --A. D. "Lumkile" Thomason, author and filmmaker
"Romal and Jordan masterfully invite us not only into the struggles of father and son relationships but they gives a voice to the endless possibilities that can heal those broken relationships. I Wish My Dad shines a light on the art of listening and the hope we have when we truly hear each other." --Preston Perry, poet, teacher, and apologist
"Hearing these men's stories has given me access to the conversations my father and I have yet to share. I am more tender, more compassionate now toward my father. There is healing within these pages for sons no doubt, and daughters as well." --Juanita Rasmus, author of Learning to Be: Finding Your Center after the Bottom Falls Out
