When I First Held You

From some of todays most critically acclaimed writersincluding Dennis Lehane Justin Cronin Andre Dubus III and Benjamin Percycomes a rich collection of essays on what it means to be a dad.Becoming a father can be one of the most profoundly terrifying exhilarating life-changing occasions in a mans life. Now 22 of todays masterful writers get straight to the heart of modern fatherhood in this incomparable collection of thought-provoking essays. From making that ultimate decision to have a kid to making it through the birth to tangling with a toddler mid-tantrum and eventually letting a teen loose in the world these fathers explore every facet of fatherhood and show how being a father changed the way they saw the worldand themselves.. One of the first things I learned about fatherhood was that my father was right: it was hard and it kicked the shit out of your life plan.Lev Grossman. I wanted to hold him. I wanted to hold him close and never let go. But we have to let go dont we?Andre Dubus III. Bridges are engineered. Children are worked toward clumsily imperfectly with a deep and almost religious faith in trial and error.Ben Greenman. If you counted up the nights Ive spent dancing to Strangers in the Night those hours would stretch three times around the equator.Garth Stein. The most surprising aspect of parenting has been how much my pre-parenting life looks like a cloud in the rearview.Dennis Lehane . Contributors includeAndr Aciman Chris Bachelder David Bezmozgis Justin Cronin Peter Ho Davies Anthony Doerr Andre Dubus III Steve Edwards Karl Taro Greenfeld Ben Greenman Lev Grossman Dennis Lehane Bruce Machart Rick Moody Stephen OConnor Benjamin Percy Bob Smith Frederick Reiken Marco Roth Matthew Specktor Garth Stein and Alexi Zentner