Hi everyone, I hope everyone enjoyed my personal post last week. This last week of September will feature a selection of adult memoirs, parenting books, and one of those inspirational Chicken Soup for the Soul reads. If you are intrigued by this, go ahead, press the button to find out…
From the parenting books to the memoirs I selected, the most important message I took was that fathers have a lasting influence on their daughters than they realise. This was made abundantly clear in Be the dad she needs you to be by Dr. Kevin Lehman. Lehman’s simple yet profound suggestions in this read has the power to transform the relationship fathers and daughters have while motivating fathers to being the kind of man his daughter needs him to be. For me, each page and chapter made me emotional as I kept seeing the situations with my own father in the frame. The lessons are really well designed and I thoroughly enjoyed Lehman’s unique style of writing. If anyone does manage to find this, it’s the best book for all dads of daughters!!
One of the quotes I loved in this was:
“Daughters who are secure in their daddy’s love will be able to step confidently into life because they know daddy is there for them, no matter what. Dads who love their daughters; affirm them and encourage them, produce daughters who do fine in school, who find careers that match their talents, and who make wise relational choices.”
Dr. Kevin Lehman
To select the biographies and memoirs I had to go through quite a few books. I wanted to find ones that would convey inspiration along with relationship advice. For inspirational stories my first choice was surely the Chicken Soup series. I was certain there would be one for fathers and daughters, and when I found it, I spent the better half of a week crying over the pages!! Chicken Soup for the Soul: Dads & Daughters by Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen gave me 101 true stories of love, laughter and that special bond dads have with their daughters. I loved every single one of them!! When I read one of these Chicken Soup books, it’s like sitting down with a warm blanket around you!! They give your heart warmth, inspire you, and reassure you of man’s goodness of heart.
The first memoir I enjoyed was Council of Dads by Bruce Feiler. A New York Times bestselling author and TV host, Bruce was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that threatened his life and his family’s future. From his ordeal, the one question that emerged was: Who would be there for his wife and daughters if he was gone? Feiler decided to reach out to six extraordinary men who helped shape him and asked them to be present in the lives of his daughters. This book is a portrait of these six men and all that they represent to Feiler. To say I cried would be an understatement. Feiler’s writing was not just heartfelt and inspirational, but raw and honest too. His story also inspired an NBC series under the same name!! Spoiler Alert: the book is better!!
Forever outnumbered by Simon Hooper was the complete opposite. This is a memoir of one young man’s journey into being a father of, not one, but four daughters!! Filled with cool photos and hilarious stories, this memoir will leave you laughing all day long!! Hooper’s descriptions of his family life could be translated to any Gen X parent out there!! If you have time, check out his Instagram page too!!
The next memoir was a bit closer to home. What my daughters taught me by Joseph Wakim was a moving story of how one man brought up his three daughters after the death of his wife to cancer. Lebanese-born Joseph decided to bring up his daughters in Australia by following his heart and trusting that he and his girls would know what to do together. I cried so much during this read too!! Through the descriptions of his life with his daughters I learned of a devoted father who valued not just the right path his daughters should take, but also the importance of staying true to his Lebanese culture and heritage. Wakim’s honest writing in this memoir is like a breath of fresh air and I loved how he described the unique personalities of his three amazing daughters!!
In A letter from Paris by Louisa Deasey we get a different type of memoir. It’s the other way round unfortunately, where Louisa Deasey searches for her father Denison Deasey following a trail of clues from a cache of letters he’d written to a lover in Paris, the libraries of Melbourne and the streets of London. From her father’s secret service in World War Two to his relationships with some of the most famous bohemian artists in post-war Europe, Louisa unearths a portrait of a fascinating man, both at the epicenter of the mercy of the social and political currents of his time. I found this memoir mysterious and captivating. Louisa’s flair for the written word, clearly inherited from her father, took me on a journey across time from post-war Europe to modern-day Melbourne and France. I loved how Louisa finally connected with her father through all she found out and realised she had fulfilled his legacy within the life she had created for herself! A really good read for Francophiles and bibliophiles alike!!
There were so many really good stories out there but sadly I didn’t have enough time to read them all!! I hope you enjoyed this selection and if anyone knows of any other titles I’d love to hear from you.
Stay safe and keep reading
Miss Mahee
Miss Mahee's Library of Reads 