The Prodigal Father
About the book:
The Prodigal Father began as a conversation on a train in 1988. I was traveling on Amtrak from Chicago to Virginia to be reunited with my son Scott, whom I had not seen since he was four years old. During the day-long trip, I sat beside William Velez, a sociology professor from the University of Wisconsin. As we talked about our families, my early life with my son, my excitement about our reunion after 14 years, and the state of America in general, Professor Velez said the statistics that social scientists were seeing regarding fatherless children were "extremely alarming." Much worse than anyone had feared.
My work reuniting fathers and children began on that train. It was there and then that I decided to tell my story. And to help other estranged fathers find their way back into their children's lives. I am a Prodigal Father. I will use the details of my story and stories I have been told as a way to illustrate the important elements of exile and reunion. This book is a pathway to joy, though like all journeys the road is sometimes painful. It is a tool to improve your life, to find peace, to find your relationship with your child.
The Prodigal Father - Reuniting Fathers and Their Children (By Mark A. Bryan, Clarkson Potter Publishers, May 1997) can be purchased on the World-Wide Web at www.randomhouse.com.
Mark Bryan is also author of the soon-to-be-released "Artist's Way at Work."