Michael A. O’Donnell, Ph.D.
Bethany House, 2011, 141 pp., $9.99
This was not an easy read for me. You see, I grew up without a father. I had no training in the home except that of my mother, which was not exactly fatherly. I was self-taught from the time I was 13, so I had to figure out things such as sex, integrity and the Christian life all by myself. This is a great book for young fathers who did not have fathers of their own, as well as for older dads who want to make sure they are hitting the high points with their sons. Parenting is a very intuitive practice. Books can’t really prepare us for many of the challenges of raising sons, but books such as What a Son Needs from His Dad can affirm the direction we already feel the Holy Spirit leading us. It’s filled with good advice for talking with our sons about being a good citizen, the crowd he hangs with and talking sex. It can’t do all the heavy lifting of raising a son, but it does lend a hand.
