Write Father, Write Son : A Bond-Building Journey explores fatherhood through the correspondence between a father and a son. The role of mother needs little explanation. Among other things, she gives birth, nurtures and comforts humanity. At this point in human evolution, her place is secure. However, the role of fathers seems to grow more obscure with each new generation of single parent households, test tube babies begotten from nameless sperm donors and the advent of same-sex marriages.
At worst, our society seems to portray fathers as unnecessary, expendable and even interchangeable. They are reduced to being sources of income or seen as useful only for repairs or other types of physical labor. The increasingly common phrase “baby daddy” seems to say it all. After providing the seed, what use is there for a man?
Society has attempted to answer this question by filling in the gaps left by absent fathers. Dad’s paycheck and responsibilities have been assumed by the taxpayer and the government. Programs provide money for food, shelter, health care and the myriad psychological effects of children being raised by children. Discipline and guidance for the fatherless is meted out by police and courts. The government, however, has proven a poor surrogate for a father.
To be sure, there are voices emerging that connect the diminishing role of the father with poverty, crime and overall social disintegration. There may be no better time to understand what role fathers play in the lives of their children and in society as a whole.
“We see, through Joe Cohen’s lens, an understanding about fatherhood begotten from the strife he endured from a distant, uncommunicative father,” wrote Alfred Guart, Pulitzer Prize nominated investigative reporter, New York Post, and former journalism professor, St. John’s University in the Foreword of Write Father, Write Son : A Bond-Building Journey. “We discover what a male parent has to offer the world as a result of someone missing it in his own life. Perhaps through absence the heart does grow fonder.”
Write Father, Write Son: A Bond-Building Journey explores fatherhood through the correspondence between a father and son, leaving a paper trail on the matter, so to speak. Through the letters and stories, we see how a man struggles to be a better, more accessible father than the one he knew. We see a boy mature and become a young, responsible man of insight and compassion. Through this compelling book, we see how much the world needs fathers. Good fathers.
Profiles
JOSEPH COHEN is a former New York city public school teacher and journalist. He wrote feature articles for Brooklyn Graphic and Sunset News while serving as the features editor for Kingsman, the Brooklyn College weekly student newspaper. Joseph later became the faculty advisor for the Fordham Heights Chronicle, a student magazine published by Fordham Heights Academy, an alternative public high school at which he taught in Bronx, New York.
He has also co-authored There Are No Secrets : Drawing Back the Curtains on the Secrets to Success with Glenn Keene, JD, CPC available on Linked In.
Currently the co-founder and President of Empowered Fathers in Action Foundation, Joe resides in Jacksonville, Florida.
JARED COHEN is a graduate of Wheaton College, MA and earned Dean’s List honors. He was also awarded the Holcombe M. Austin Prize in Philosophy. He specializes in digital marketing and DJs at various venues throughout New York City, hosting parties with likeminded music enthusiasts.
Philanthropy
5% of all profits after expenses will be sent to help support the prevention of child abuse
Childhelp – www.childhelp.org
The Childhelp approach to ending child abuse
At Childhelp, our goal is to meet the physical, emotional, educational, and spiritual needs of abused, neglected and at-risk children. We focus our efforts on prevention, intervention, treatment, and community outreach. Childhelp programs and services help children from any situation and let them experience the life they deserve: one filled with love. The principle theme across all of our programs is to provide children we serve with an environment of compassion and kindness.