My Father's Day Gift

When given
full freedom, many men will piddle.

So it is
for middle-aged college professor Adam Cherry on Father’s Day. Alone for the
day on his newly purchased horse farm in the Midwest, his two daughters and
wife away or abroad, Adam finds excitement in an entire day to piddle away—his
Father’s Day gift to himself.

But this
day is one of challenges and interruptions. And each one helps him understand
what Father’s Day is truly about.

As Adam
navigates his Father’s Day, the fatherly influences of seven male role models
reveal themselves in the choices he makes, or avoids, and in the behavior he
reveals. As the day winds down, he finds himself recalling his own father, and
one particularly memorable Father’s Day many years ago.

Through
it all, the love Adam has found in his newfound rugged farm lifestyle shines
through. He shares his passion and struggles as he learns to train horses, fish
in his own pond, fix farm equipment, abate snakes, and wield a chainsaw. Though
once resistant to his wife’s push to buy the farm, Adam comes to realize that
he wanted it, or even needed it, as much as she did. It’s the simple joy he
finds in rural life which reveals the man that his role models have made him.

Adam’s voice is warm and likeable, and remarkably honest.
This is a man seeing himself with clear eyes, with crudeness, impatience,
recklessness, and anger intact. The edges are rough and the man is naked. It
may not be pretty, but in a very real way, it is beautiful.

My Father’s Day Gift is a tribute to the importance
of male role models―fatherly influences―in the demonstrable character of a man.
The influence comes not from lengthy conversations or direct instruction, but the
distinct and impressionable moments in everyday interactions.

Author David Andrews includes a preface that explains his
reasons for writing such a story. His two appendices include a short list of
the top ten ways to acknowledge the meaningful mentors in your life, including
your father. The second appendix is a vital list of fathering and mentoring
resources.

My Father’s Day Gift
is a salute not
only to fathers everywhere, but to Father’s Day itself. But Andrews
wrote this novel fundamentally for his own father, who passed away only five
weeks after reading it.

This book is published in his memory.

In Praise of My Father’s Day Gift

"My Father's
Day Gift is magic. Incredibly well written and compelling, it will have you
remembering those in your life who saw something in you before you saw it in
yourself. That's what it did for me. Read it. Relish it. Share it."

―Wes Moore, bestselling author of The Other Wes Moore

“In this thoughtful and compelling story, you’ll be reminded
of your father and of your fatherly influences. You’ll also find yourself
wanting, more than ever, to be the best father you can be.”  

―Christopher
Brown, President, National Fatherhood Initiative

"In
this inspiring book, Andrews reminds us that it is the accumulation of
seemingly small events that shape our deepest affections and values. For
anyone who ever spent precious time with a young person and wondered if it made
a difference, this book provides a compelling answer.  Given its timeless
life lessons, this is a book for the ages, not just for all ages!"

―Brit Kirwan, Chancellor of the University
System of Maryland;
Former President,  University of Maryland, College Park; and Former President, Ohio
State University

“As the mother of boys, I’ve had the privilege of watching them
think and feel their way through so many situations from a unique boy’s
perspective. The societal landscape for boys and girls is different, and their
differing perceptions of themselves is also gender influenced. In these stories,
I could see many threads from childhood to manhood. I laughed, cried, smiled,
and sighed all the way to the end of this book. It is quietly very powerful.
Thank you, Dr. Andrews, for sharing it with me―it’s a true gift.”

―Susan Magsamen, Award
winning Writer, and Founder of Curiosityville

“Over the decades we’ve known each other, I’ve read many
things that the author wrote. I read his prospectuses, his drafts of
articles, and many of his publications. I’ve read proposals, reports, and
summaries of our work together. Over those decades, I’ve been continually impressed
by the improvements in his writing, but he obviously had one major surprise
waiting for me with My Father's Day Gift. I
had no idea that he had the ability to communicate so much emotion and meaning
in so many wonderful, artfully chosen words and phrases. I’ve never read a book
twice in my entire lifetime, but this is going to be a first.”

― Dr. Murray Krantz, Professor, Family &
Child Sciences, Florida State University