Real Fatherhood

To buy Bob Kamm's musical CD, Real Fatherhood, visit www.springbound.com/bob_kamm. Real Fatherhood chronicles key events in the first nine years of an actual father-son relationship so rare, it’s doubtful it has an equal in the annals of fiction or non-fiction. Surprising, humorous and inspiring, this book is also rich with vignettes instructive for any parent facing the difficulties of raising children in the information age. From the moment Bob meets his son in the delivery room he responds with an innovative spirit, often going directly against the conventional wisdom. Rather than focusing on a career during Ben’s most vulnerable years, he’s willing to work at anything that pays the bills and allows enough time to be a fully present dad. Several years later, when he does rise to the top of his profession, it’s not competitive drive that gets him there, but the same enduring determination to be with Ben. For the same reason, he waits years before purchasing a home. Debt will only mean more work. “Work takes time,” he writes. “Love needs time, lots of time. Beyond a certain point, work is the thief of love. A real father fights to keep that thief from his home.” When his marriage falls apart and Ben suddenly begins to stutter, Bob is convinced he can “love the problem away” himself rather than look to a professional to solve it. The description of what follows is bound to become a classic, so richly does it draw the personality of a three-year-old boy. When Ben’s mother, Stacey, begins a descent into substance abuse, a custody transfer is crafted without lawyers. When Ben’s teachers believe he doesn’t want to learn to read, his dad discovers what’s really going on. When friends urge cutting Stacey off from all contact with her son because of her emotional turmoil, Bob manages to set boundaries, walk the edges that must be walked and maintain the relationship. Through these and many other challenges emerges a courageously honest and lyrical image of fatherhood during the critical early years – years too often missed by work-driven dads. Real fatherhood. Real boyhood. Real inspiration.