I Wish My Dad: The Power of Vulnerable Conversations between Fathers and Sons

"I Wish My Dad . . .": what a simple way to start a sentence. But those four words hold the power to heal wounds men may not even know they carry.

From author, speaker, and social entrepreneur Romal Tune and his son, Jordan, comes this tour de force for fathers and sons about healing the unfinished business between them. What do sons wish they had received from their fathers? What might honest, healing conversations between fathers and sons look like?

Tune was raised mostly without a father. He and his dad connected briefly when he was a teenager, and then had no relationship for decades. After years of inner work via therapy and faith, Tune realized that neither he nor his dad possessed what they needed to live up to each other's expectations. He began to wonder if other men also longed to have vulnerable conversations with their fathers--about good memories, about pain, and about what their relationship could still become.

So he sat down with seventeen men of diverse ages, ethnicities, and socioeconomic backgrounds for "I Wish My Dad" conversations. In the pages of this book, he invites us into the room as the men unpack relationships with their fathers, learn to work through emotional pain, recount moments of tenderness and care, and describe risks they took to heal and connect with their fathers. Tune also offers us strategies and prompts for initiating our own "I Wish My Dad" conversations. And with no pretense, he and Jordan recount their own "I Wish My Dad" interview, which helped them chart the way toward a transformed relationship.

I Wish My Dad helps fathers, and their sons move through the past to find deep connection in the present. The lessons in these pages will free us to have--and become--the kind of dad we wish for.

Romal Tune is a speaker, author, and social entrepreneur. He serves as a vice president at TMS Global and is the founder of ClereStory Education, a nonprofit that offers workshops and coaching about mental health. Tune is a graduate of Howard University and Duke Divinity School and has spoken internationally at conferences addressing topics of inner healing, thriving, and the importance of mental health. He is the author of God's Graffiti and Love Is an Inside Job, which Richard Rohr said "will change the way you see life, death, and perhaps even God." He has two children and lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

Jordan Tune is a recent graduate of Morehouse College, where he was active in NAACP, the debate team, and Student Government Association. As a political science major, he plans to attend law school and become a criminal justice attorney. He is passionate about public speaking and encouraging others to live a positive and loving life.