Fathers and Sons

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Pub Date 22 Feb 2018 | Archive Date 7 Jun 2018

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Description

Was he thinking, do I have to be this kind of boy to survive? Is this what being a boy is? As a boy growing up on the south coast of England, Howard Cunnell’s sense of self was dominated by his father’s absence. Now, years later, he is a father, and his daughter is becoming his son. Starting with his own childhood in the Sussex beachlands, Howard tells the story of the years of self-destruction that defined his young adulthood and the escape he found in reading and the natural world. Still he felt compelled to destroy the relationships that mattered to him. Saved by love and responsibility, Cunnell charts his journey from anger to compassion, as his daughter Jay realizes he is a boy, and a son. Most of all, this is a story about love – its necessity and fragility, and its unequalled capacity to enable us to be who we are. Deeply thoughtful, searingly honest and exquisitely lyrical, Fathers and Sons is an exploration of fatherhood, masculinity, authenticity and family.

Was he thinking, do I have to be this kind of boy to survive? Is this what being a boy is? As a boy growing up on the south coast of England, Howard Cunnell’s sense of self was dominated by his...


Advance Praise

‘There is so much aching love in this book, such pain and beauty. Behold, and rejoice.’ – Tim Winton, author of Cloudstreet 

‘This book tells the story of how family is made. It tells it frankly, unexpectedly and in such a way that both family and expectations are rewritten and renewed. I couldn't put it down. Bold, brave, beautiful – much more than biology. This is life itself.’ Jackie Kay, author of Red Dust Road

‘A miracle of a book: sad, wise, strong and hopeful, its depiction of parenthood will stay with me for a long time.’ Sunjeev Sahota, author of The Year of the Runaways

‘A loving and tender antidote to the epic transphobia of this year.’ Olivia Laing, author of The Lonely City

‘Essential reading. Agonisingly beautiful and honest. One man’s uncompromising testament to love.’ Sarah Winman, author of When God Was a Rabbit

‘A memoir burnished with love and goodwill. It will leave you watching the world differently.’ Naomi Wood, author of Mrs. Hemingway

‘Dazzlingly beautiful...this is truly heart-stopping writing.’ Financial Times

‘Handsomely written, honest and deeply moving, Cunnell’s remarkable memoir is a work of guts, grit, and love.’ Richard House, author of The Kills

‘It is one of the most good-hearted, big-souled books I’ve read, a memoir about what it means to be a man, but more importantly what it means to be a parent. I don’t cry easily, but I read the final pages through a luminous wash of tears.’ Alex Preston, author of As Kingfishers Catch Fire

‘There is so much aching love in this book, such pain and beauty. Behold, and rejoice.’ – Tim Winton, author of Cloudstreet 

‘This book tells the story of how family is made. It tells it frankly...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781509812448
PRICE £8.99 (GBP)
PAGES 224

Average rating from 2 members


Featured Reviews

Enljoyed this a lot. Very tenderly told, a real love story from father to new son.

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