SPONSOR Syndicated careers columnist Dr. Marty Nemko offers open public access to his archive of career advise: How Do I Become  a Sponsor?   DIANE A. SEARS is a member of the University Council for Akamai University’s Fatherhood and Men’s Studies Program, and is the Managing Editor of a quarterly international male parenting journal published and exclusively distributed by BSI International, Inc. In October 1999 she launched the IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD FORUM FOR AND ABOUT THE FATHERS OF THE WORLD. Sears has interviewed more than 100 Men who are Fathers. She has authored and published reviews for numerous books about Fatherhood and men’s rights issues including Father and Child Reunion: How To Bring The Dads We Need to the Children We Love, by Warren Farrell, Ph.D.; Swallowed By A Snake: The Gift Of The Masculine Side Of Healing” by Thomas R. Golden, LCSW; The Ultimate Survival Guide for the Single Father by Thomas Hoerner; and Nothing’s Wrong: A Man’s Guide To Managing His Feelings by David Kundtz.		Book Excerpt... In Search of Fatherhood: Transcending Boundaries by Diane A. Sears
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                                INTRODUCTION

In many ways, and for many reasons, Fatherhood transcends the boundaries of geography, ethnicity, religion, language, culture, politics and economics.  Men who are Fathers from all Walks of Life throughout our global village experience the joys and challenges of raising children as they discover that a magical formula for parenting does not exist.

Collectively and unceremoniously – and in some instances, under the most difficult set of circumstances -- Single Fathers, Married Fathers, Divorced Fathers, “Stay-At-Home” Fathers, “Long-Distance” Fathers, Custodial Fathers and Non-Custodial Fathers from all Walks of Life throughout our global village shape the minds and souls of their children.

They worry about the world that their children will inherit when they reach adulthood.  Their children’s health and physical safety are of primary concern.  Men wonder if they are being good parents as they struggle to develop and implement plans that they will move their families forward.  No one has come to them and said, “To become a successful parent and have happy, well-adjusted children, you need to do ‘x, y and z’.”  Each new day presents Men who are Fathers with a unique set of questions and issues directly and indirectly related to Fatherhood.

All Men who are Fathers are searching for answers to questions about Fatherhood.   Men who are Fathers find themselves grappling with an incessant flow of issues.  This universal search for answers and quest to resolve issues has provided Men who are Fathers with an opportunity to closely scrutinize their roles and responsibilities as parents.

In Search of Fatherhood: Transcending Boundaries candidly explores the daunting questions and issues that confront Single Fathers, Married Fathers, “Stay-At-Home” Fathers, Divorced Fathers, “Long-Distance” Fathers, Custodial Fathers and Non-Custodial Fathers.  The gentlemen that you will meet on the pages that follow -- Stephen Baskerville, Ph.D., Muhammad Nasser Bey, Randy L. Collins, Leonard Dantzler, Warren Farrell, Ph.D., Dale Fraza, Thomas Golden LCSW, the late L.T. Henry, Thomas Hoerner, Gary A. Johnson, James Kennedy, Thomas Lessman, Alvin F. Poussaint, M.D. Martin G. Ramey, Almas Jamil Sami’ and Joep Zander -- speak profoundly about the roles and responsibilities of Men who are Fathers and the joys and challenges of Fatherhood.

In Search of Fatherhood:Transcending Boundaries examines how Men who Fathers from all Walks of Life influence their children’s perception of the world outside of their environment and offers suggestions about what our young men need from us as they make the journey from childhood to manhood.

 In Search of Fatherhood: Transcending Boundaries is a reaffirmation of Fatherhood.   It is also a reaffirmation of the vision of a Forum for Fathers that was conceived by my late mentor – L.T. Henry – a classically trained jazz musician, author, photojournalist and sales and motivation trainer.  Unfortunately, he died before he could develop his idea.  It was his belief that Men who are Fathers from all Walks of Life throughout our global village had unanswered questions about Fatherhood and that they were engaged in a silent and never-ending search for answers.  His vision, through IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD® -- Transcending Boundaries, has been resurrected. It was the least that I could do for a man who had done so much for me.

Diane A. Sears © 2004, all rights reserved

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