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Narrated by Bruce Feiler
Bruce FeilerUnabridged — 5 hours, 33 minutes
Narrated by Bruce Feiler
Bruce FeilerUnabridged — 5 hours, 33 minutes
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Bestselling author Bruce Feiler was a young father when he was diagnosed with cancer. He instantly worried what his daughters' lives would be like without him. Three days later, he came up with a stirring idea to reach out to six men from all the passages in his life, and ask them to be present in the passages in his daughters' lives. And he would call this group "The Council of Dads."
"I believe my daughters will have plenty of opportunities in their lives," he wrote to these men. "But they may not have their dad. Will you help be their dad?"
The Council of Dads is the inspiring story of what happened next. Feiler introduces the men in his Council and captures the life lesson he wants each to convey to his daughters-how to see, how to travel, how to question, how to dream. He mixes these with an intimate, highly personal chronicle of his experience battling cancer while raising young children.
The Council of Dads is a touching, funny, and, ultimately deeply moving book on how to live life, how the human spirit can respond to adversity, and how to deepen and cherish the friendships that enrich our lives.
…Feiler's conversations with his potential stand-ins are candid and moving. The Council of Dads exemplifies the mysterious process by which bad news can alter our perspective and reorder our priorities, and it celebrates the ever-expanding level of emotional intimacy that men are increasingly free to engage.
—The Washington Post
In 2008, bestselling author Feiler (Walking the Bible) learned he had a rare, life-threatening tumor in his left leg. Fearing what his absence would do to the lives of his young daughters, Feiler asked six close friends ("Men who know my voice") to help raise them. Feiler chronicles his battle with cancer, from diagnosis to recovery, as well as his sentimental but moving journey to recruit friends who can carry out his wish to teach his daughters to travel, dream, and live life to its fullest. Feiler's intimate bond with his friends makes them unusually expressive and communicative (if lacking in humor), and their own biographies lend further inspirational dimensions to the story. Though his letters to friends and family can get ornate ("The Brooklyn Bridge...is looking fresh-faced and handsome overhead, its famed promenade glittering like the pot of gold at the end of a long journey to come"), it's hard not to get swept along and cheer Feiler on as he fights for his life and his daughters'.
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Candid and moving. The Council of Dads exemplifies the mysterious process by which bad news can alter our perspective and reorder our priorities, and it celebrates the ever-expanding level of emotional intimacy that men are increasingly free to engage.” — Washington Post
“Thoughtful....From other men close to him, Feiler gleaned the qualities of curiosity and the urge to travel and learn, of taking care of things and people that matter, of remembering those who matter and casting them in a positive light.” — St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“Reading The Council of Dads made me wonder at the great opportunity we miss....I’d like my daughters to have a Council of Dads, a Council of Moms...to remind us which values we value most, and help us make sure we transmit them.” — Time magazine
“It’s hard not to get swept along and cheer Feiler on as he fights for his life and his daughters.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Feiler tackles personal hardship with inquisitive and heartfelt eloquence.” — Kirkus Reviews
“A book that will touch many.” — Booklist
“Moving.” — Daily News
“Wonderful.” — Savannah Morning News
“Feiler’s council brings us all closer.” — Sun Herald (Sydney, Australia)
“A thoughtful, candid story of how the humdrum of everyday life can suddenly give way to upheaval, and of coming face to face with mortality....A triumph.” — The Age (Melbourne, Australia)
Moving.
Candid and moving. The Council of Dads exemplifies the mysterious process by which bad news can alter our perspective and reorder our priorities, and it celebrates the ever-expanding level of emotional intimacy that men are increasingly free to engage.
A book that will touch many.
Wonderful.
Feiler’s council brings us all closer.
Thoughtful....From other men close to him, Feiler gleaned the qualities of curiosity and the urge to travel and learn, of taking care of things and people that matter, of remembering those who matter and casting them in a positive light.
Reading The Council of Dads made me wonder at the great opportunity we miss....I’d like my daughters to have a Council of Dads, a Council of Moms...to remind us which values we value most, and help us make sure we transmit them.
A thoughtful, candid story of how the humdrum of everyday life can suddenly give way to upheaval, and of coming face to face with mortality....A triumph.
After being diagnosed with cancer in 2008, Feiler (America's Prophet: Moses and the American Story, 2009, etc.) asked his closest male friends to provide guidance, wisdom and love to his children, should he not survive. The author chronicles the daunting process of enduring a life-threatening condition, creating an amalgam of travelogue, family album, personal memoir and portrait of a marriage. With the same measured, down-to-earth voice that distinguishes his popular explorations of historical landmarks and religious figures, Feiler describes the men in his life who have shaped him, including his father, both grandfathers and the men he chose to fill his fatherly shoes in case his extensive surgery and chemotherapy treatments proved unsuccessful. By reverently marveling at the achievements, sorrows and credos of his male role models, the evolution of his deepest friendships and his wife's courage, the author looks beyond his own lifetime, putting the struggles of the present into a philosophically astute and humble context. Through regular letters to loved ones, he offers snapshots of his "Lost Year," bluntly recounting the ravages of aggressive procedures, the impact of his weakened state on his daily life and the moments of joy, connection and grace he still finds within the anguish. His contemplative candor, fortitude and wry humor come through in the simplest of phrases: "No one aspires to be the person who handles this kind of situation well." Addressing his daughters, the author writes about "the great paradox of parenting: Even as we come to feel we can't live without you, our primary job is to prepare you to live without us. Our task, in a sense, is to make ourselves obsolete."Feiler tackles personal hardship with inquisitive and heartfelt eloquence. Author tour to Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Raleigh-Durham, Savannah, Washington, D.C.
| BN ID: | 2940173629401 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | HarperCollins |
| Publication date: | 04/27/2010 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
