SINGLE FATHERS' HANDBOOK: A Guide for Separated and Divorced Fathers

by Richard H. & David Koulack Gatley ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 24, 1979

Two divorced therapists muse and reminisce about single fatherhood; the result is long on sympathy, short on most specifics. Where particulars are supplied, they tend to be embarrassingly trivial and disjointed: one author discloses his recipes for meat sauce and garlic bread, and in the short section on infant care we're told, ""If your baby cries, it usually means she's wet. . . ."" All this by way of insisting that fathers should spend as much time as possible with the kids and can learn effective nurturing procedures just as mom once did, Joint custody arrangements are favored wherever possible, and one plan would have dads keep kids at their homes for more than half the week. Also handled all-too-blithely: the problems of a new wife or girlfriend ("". . . you're going to have to give your new partner and your children the time and space to sort things out for themselves""); the reactions of the single father's parents (some are supportive, some not); and the nuances of dealing with the ex-wife. The solid, down-to-earth financial and legal matters are ignored here, and therapists are preferred to lawyers for the hammering out of separation agreements. Though far more good-natured than Vail's Divorce: A Man's Guide to Winning (p. 115), this is far less informative.

Pub Date: Aug. 24, 1979

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Anchor/Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1979

Categories: NONFICTION