Whether his passing was sudden or gradual, regardless of the health of the father-son relationship . . . when the man who gave you life dies, a part of you dies as well. It is an emotional rite of passage that affects who you are, how you relate to others, how you deal with your past, and how you face your future. You will find study questions at the end of each chapter in this book as authors Dave Veerman and Bruce Barton share their own emotional journeys, along with the insights and practical advice of professional counselors. Each chapter of When Your Father Dies also focuses on a specific life experience with personal accounts of men – some famous and some not – who have lost their fathers: "My father's death changed my relationship with God. I learned that He's in charge, not me." "When I realized how young my dad had died [at 59], I knew that I had no time to waste if I was going to make something of my life." More than a book about grief, When your Father Dies is a map through the complex emotions and chages a man goes through following the loss of his father.
Dave Veerman is the author of more than sixty books, including Tough Parents of Tough Times, When Your Father Dies, and Letting Them Go, and he was a senior editor of the Life Application Study Bible. Dave is co-owner of The Livingstone Corporation, a company that serves Christian publishers by creating, developing, and producing books, Bible, Bible studies, curricula, and other products. He currently presents Understanding Your Teenager seminars across the country. He holds a B.A. from Wheaton College and an M.Div. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Dave and his wife, Gail, have two grown children and reside in Illinois.
This book is targeted very specifically at men who have lost their fathers. In that light, it was incredibly helpful. It was so good to hear from men share things that I thought for sure was something weird or unusual about my own experience. I was amazed at the common feelings and thoughts represented here.