The Weekend Dad

Guaranteed to appeal to fans of Nick Hornby and David Nicholls, The Weekend Dad is a warmhearted novel about parenthood, family and new beginnings.

'Would you like to see some pictures?'
'I'd love to.' After all, what father wouldn't want to see pictures of his daughter? A father who was scared, that's who.
I'm not a grown-up. I'm really not. I don't have a job, or savings, or a pension. I don't have a wife or a dog, a car or a house. But I do, suddenly, have a daughter.

Six weeks ago, Emmett became a father - to seven-year-old girl Misty. Leaving Dublin for London to bond with the daughter he never knew existed seems like the right thing to do, though he's not quite sure how he fits into Misty's life, or her mother's. When Emmett knew Amanda they were both students. Today, she's a successful career woman with proper plans for her future - and he's a struggling poet, trying to connect with his daughter during their awkward weekend visits.
But then Amanda surprises Emmett with an unexpected proposition, and he finds himself with some big decisions to make . . .

Alison Walsh has worked in publishing and literary journalism for a number of years. She wrote a popular and humorous column on family life for the Irish Independent for some years, and this was followed by a memoir on motherhood, In My Mother's Shoes, which became a number-one Irish bestseller in 2010. She is a regular contributor to the Sunday Independent books pages. Alison lives in Dublin with her husband and three children. Follow her on Twitter at @authoralison or visit her website at www.alisonwalsh.net