The Book “Life of Dad” by Anna Machin

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Notable Strengths of the Book
Conclusion
Reference

Introduction

The present course has largely been about the subject of fatherhood. As a parenting concept, it is understood by the majority to be extremely important while also being ignored in favor of mothers. In child-rearing, there is a focus on a woman’s role, while men get sidelined in their job as caretakers. Mostly, the common perception of a man, masculinity, and gender roles interferes with society’s ability to see men as more than sources of income or “protectors.” The work of a man as a homemaker and a father figure is poorly explored. There is an evident lack of work regarding good fatherhood in academic literature.

Researchers focus on the effects of absent father parenting, abusive parents, and other types of negative influences. Then, the experiences, stories, and challenges of proactive fathers are poorly reflected. The book under review, Life of Dad, seeks to change that. Written by an author who has personal experience with raising children and interviewing fathers, it is a notable resource to refer to in the quest to discuss fatherhood. Machin combines the personal experiences with a reflection on history, providing a nuanced commentary on the changing role of a father. Furthermore, she interviews many different fathers, each with their own personality and parenting style to get varied perspectives on the subject. The book is valuable and well-written, I would recommend it to any person seeking to learn more about male parenting. I chose to highlight specific strengths of the piece, including its ability to present varied and nuanced perspectives, along with a desire to enact positive change. I think this effort resonates with the core ideas of the course and should be discussed. This review will focus on discussing the book’s strong points while delving deeper into the topic of being a dad.

Notable Strengths of the Book

Highlighting the History of Fatherhood

First, Machin demonstrates knowledge of history and anthropology in her book, going as far as to discuss ancient people. This is significant, because many of the issues connected with the modern understanding of fatherhood stem from an incorrect perception of historic gender roles. The conversation is centered on the presence of prehistoric fathers in families and their vital role in helping to raise children. History is brought up to either embolden the author’s points or highlight important trends that can be traced into the past. The use of reflections is not excessive and does not feel like an attempt to artificially pad up the book. Instead, they are welcome additions that amplify the work’s overall message and make it feel more authoritative.

Defining Fathers by Their Positive Impact

One of the book’s central goals is to reframe the discussion of fathers in the global community. The book highlights the modern fixation on discussing mothers, a trend that excludes the father from the global parenting conversation. Machin desires for fathers to be discussed as a positive concept, highlighting the role and influence of good parents instead of solely focusing on the bad ones. I think this is extremely important, as the shift in perspective allows for more thorough discussions of parenting. As the author notes in the foreword, the entire book is written to “counteract the remorselessly bad press about absent fathers” (Machin, 2018, p. 2). The affirmative message is designed to inform to empower those that read it to strive for better fatherhood experiences themselves. By changing the tone of the conversation, Machin can attract the audience that needs to hear her message most – men.

Presenting Perspectives

Another great benefit of this book is its ability to present varied perspectives and viewpoints. By interviewing many people, the author could capture the attitudes of not just a single father but of a multitude of different fathers. This included children’s opinions, too, which helped further diversify the message. The relationships of the fathers in question and their children seemed healthy and positive bringing forth real examples of good parenting. A variety in delivery, opinion, and focus helps highlight the importance of a personal parenting style and an array of different parenting approaches. No single child is the same, much like every father is different, and the author clearly understands that.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the book was personally very engaging to me and managed to deliver its main points succinctly. I think that the author is clearly well-versed in the subject of discussion, managing to bring their own perspective and a clear positive impact into the discussion field. I was inspired by their commitment to changing the perceptions of fatherhood for the better and the subsequent variety of presented information. Both parents were presented as necessary and important in childhood development, with men playing just as much of a role of women. In terms of understanding gender roles, this work considers men to be a vital part of the child-rearing process, contrary to the popular ideas of mother-centric parenting.

The writing style itself was engaging, and it was easy to consume the book in reasonable portions. It was structured well for ease of understanding, providing many explanations and analyses to get a reader of any level to be on board. Paragraph size was also appropriate, as was the general authorial tone throughout the work. This book falls within the constraints of the course subject and covers many of the themes previously discussed in classes. This work is worth reading, even if one has some familiarity with the concept of fatherhood. The author’s commitment to telling the stories of others makes this work stand out among the rest and adds original value beyond a simple exploration of the past. I thoroughly enjoyed the time spent on this book, and I would likely read another work by this author.

Reference

Machin, A. (2018). The life of dad: The making of a modern father. Simon & Schuster.

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