An excellent essay anthology on writers' relationships with their fathers. As one writer puts it, the collection concerns the man you simultaneously know better than anyone else and not entirely. This is a book that I'll return to when I'm especially missing my dad. It was particularly poignant reading this the week of Father's Day. Since this is the successor to What My Mother and I Don't Talk About, I'll be checking that out at some point.

A personal look at how we don't always say what we need to. Filgate chose our fathers, which is a good starting point to look at ourselves and decide what we should do differently.

Thank you net gallery for the advanced copy of this book. The essays were heartfelt and had me in tears a few times. Relationships are complicated and our relationships with our parents more so. I would definitely recommend.

When I requested this book from NetGalley, I didn't know much about it, but it sounded interesting. When I realized that I had missed the first book in this series, a viral sensation on Mothers, I almost put this one down to read them in order. Then my inner voice reminded me that this was an entirely new collection, with new contributors—I added it to my to-read list and moved on. The breadth of the stories in this collection is impressive. There are beautiful stories of everyday moments side-by-side life changing stories that just gutted me. A bonus, though not great for my already overflowing to-read pile, this book introduced me to some terrific new authors.

Surprise surprise, this was incredible.

I am SO grateful to Michele Filgate and all those whose words are included here. Just like What My Mother and I Don't Talk About, this is heartwarming and heartbreaking and will make you reflect on your childhood and helps give context to the parent you do or do not hope to grow into.

My only complaint with What My Mother and I Don't Talk About was that man- and boyhood wasn't really addressed (understandably so). This has filled that gap and then some.



(Thank you bunches to Michele Filgate, Andrew Altschul, Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, Maurice Carlos Ruffin, Dylan Landis, Jaquira Díaz, Kelly McMasters, Isle McElroy, Susan Muaddi Darraj, Tomás Q. Morín, Robin Reif, Heather Sellers, Jiordan Castle, Nayomi Munaweera, Joanna Rakoff, Julie Buntin and NetGalley for the DRC in exchange for an honest review!)

This book is phenomenal and everyone should read it.

"What My Father and I don't Talk About" is the follow-up to "What My Mother and I Don't Talk About" and is a collection of essays by sixteen authors about their relationships with their fathers. Ranging from humorous to deeply moving, the essays show how both positive and negative relations between fathers and their children have profound affects on the lives of those children, now adults. Each essay is brutally honest and relatable to all readers. I could see my father and myself in every essay. This book is full of discussion worthy topics. especially for book clubs. It will definitely be as wildly popular as the first book.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the authors for the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy of this book.

A vital collection of experiences that incapsulate a relationship with a father and the relationship the writer has with who they have become. Each experience is unique and impactful. There is mighty humor, gratitude, and pain that resonates throughout the collection.

While I have not read What my Mother and I Don’t talk About, I will have to now. The collection of essays is wide ranging, yet all feel so relatable. Obviously you will have your favorites, as I had mine, but they all held their own. Coming up on the 15th anniversary of my dad’s death, it was especially poignant.

This was a very emotive read, each authors impressions of their fathers was somehow unique and yet totally relatable

A wonderful read!
Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the eArc.

This was an experience where the reader learns and understands that their experience is not unique (in the best possible way). These stories showcase a poignant experience of fathers from the view of the children. An account of their own experiences of the men in or absent from their lives who at some point in late childhood you realize your parent, specifically father, exists outside the confines of the attachment to you. Those experience inform the person who will become your parent and what types of parent they choose to be.

This collection of essays explore these experiences which are beautiful, inspiring and tragic. Each essay is separate making this a great book to explore, pick up and put down, and dawdle in. I journeyed and journaled quite a bit through these stories about. my own experiences with my dad and I came away with more compassion, accountability, and frustration all the same.

If you like first hand accounts and enjoyed the previous book, "What my Mother and I don't Talk about" you will also enjoy this one.
All opinions are my own.

What My Father and I Don’t Talk About by Michele Filgate and various other authors.
Nonfiction
Writing: A
Stories: A
Style: A
Best Aspect: Separate short stories by each author made this a quick read. My favorites were Little Boy Blue and The Man in the Moon and It Would Happen Again.
Worst Aspect: Some stories could have been longer and some shorter.
Recommend: Yes.

Lovely and diverse selection of essays about fathers! In this collection, you get to enjoy authors from different generations and backgrounds telling some really great stories, from tales that are heart wrenching to heartwarming and everywhere in between. My favorites were Body Languages, Roots & Rhizomes and In the Direction of Yes.

*Thank you to NetGalley for exchanging an e-ARC of this book for an unbiased review!

What My Father and I Don’t Talk About


These are writers’ narratives about their relationships with their fathers. They are heartwarming and heartbreaking, sweet and sour, enlightening and saddening, and maybe even shocking. They are all different and well worth reading.

Incredible.. Everyone should take a read of "Baba Peels Apples for Me" By Susan Muaddi Darraj for a Palestinian-American experience. My favorite story was "The Daddy Tax" By Alex Marzano-Lesnevich.

As someone who struggles with navigating the relationship with their father, I felt all of these stories in my bones. These are beautiful reflections and honest confessions about dynamics with one of the people who gave you life. This is supposed to be someone who is always there for you and loves you. However, it doesn't always work out like that. This is spectacularly done. Michele Filgate did an impeccable job editing.

As a daughter, I often felt my father's story was one he would have shared more easily if I was his son. The stories in this book are ones that will give one insight to the variety of levels in the father aspect of parenting. These stories evoke a vast amount of emotions as you are easily transpired into each individual's relationship with their father.

Interesting book that has led me to seek out her first book. Clearly, this one stands just fine on its own as a compilation of essays by authors about their fathers. They are all well-written in various styles, and come in all shapes and sizes...some fond reminiscences about dads, others happy and sad, some yearning, some angry. No surprise that this book generated thoughts and memories about my dad. A recommended read.

Another beautiful collection of essays from editor Michele Filgate, the follow-up to What My Mother and I Don't Talk About. A wide range of perspectives and topics, and I love that I could read one a day as a stand-alone mini book.

I found this to be intriguing and liked every story in the compilation. I loved the diversity of the authors. It’s always so interesting to see into the lives of others and learn about their struggles - some of which the reader might share. I liked this one more than What my Mother and I Don’t Talk About however I did that one on audio which might have not been the best medium for me. I would recommend this to folks that appreciate memoirs.