Things I Should Have Said to My Father

By Joanna Powell

This inspiring book gathers quotes and interviews from celebrities, asking them what they have always wanted to tell their fathers but never did. Includes such luminaries as Bill Clinton, Magic... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0380773481
• ISBN13: 9780380773480
• Release Date: May 1994
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.5" x 5.3"

Customer Reviews

Interesting, amusing, sad....great compilation

Things I Should Have Said to My Father is an overall and interesting observation into a powerful and emulating figure in our lives....our father. Unfortunately, fathers are not always all that powerful and some are not figures we should emulate. What makes this a pleasurable read is that it is about sons, famous or those of the famous who shared outright interviews with the author or, excerpts taken from biographies, autobiographies, magazine articles, books, etc. Credit and permission are granted for reprints, etc. A complete index refers to the snippets, some lengthy, some short. There is no information on the author who compiled it, none! The book is composed of remembrances of fathers from their sons. Sons who spoke of legacies, lessons learned, gratitude, regrets, silences, absences, clashes love and a unique subject called "what happened to his dreams". Published in 1994, many of the names are recognizable and maybe not all for the younger set. Reading about these very famous fathers and sons, puts those like Presidents, authors, musicians, athletes, etc. on the same level as you and I, our experiences with or without a father. Some memorable snippets: Marvin Gaye, in one section called "missed opportunities", said he had wished he would make peace with his father. Unfortunately, later, his father murdered him. Bill Moyers tells how his father grieved for 25 years over Moyers' brother. The grief became masked as a medical problem that could have been fixed. Sean Lennon reflects on his father, John Lennon, and the "whole five years" he had with him. They were buddies. Mister Rogers said: Dad and I have things to teach and learn from each other in eternity. That should be just about enough time. Bruce Springsteen in a chapter called "What Happened to His Dreams" is puzzled as he looks at a picture of his father and wonders how his father turned so bitter. Winston Churchill said it best: When you are living under the shadow of a great oak tree, the small sapling, so close to the parent tree, does not perhaps receive enough sunshine. Excellent reading for those who are fathers, mothers and raising children. ....Rizzo