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So Dad, What Makes a Man? A Narrative on the Male Identity
by Tom Peery
316 pages
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Advancing the conversation about men's identity today.
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Ebook
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$8.99
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Download Ebook instantly!
(PDF, ePub, and Kindle)
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Category: Self Help
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(requires Adobe Reader)
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About the Book
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So Dad, What Makes A Man? : A Narrative on the Male Identity is a collection of true stories in a captivating style that reads like a novel. Tom Peery develops his life in details not often told that invites you to compare your own perspective on life, whether you are a man or a woman wanting to better understand men.
Peery's story is of a man trained in the latter half of the past century to be a man by his father, male peers, an all-male engineering college, the military and a multinational corporation. Today, having taken a different approach to his second half of life, he laments the characteristics in some current male leaders now dividing the country, genders and cultures. He recognizes those characteristics because he once embraced them.
One of his turning points came on the eve of his son's twenty-first birthday, when he asked Peery, "So Dad, what makes a man?" After fifteen years of carrying that question, this book is his response.
Following Tom through his personal journey you will observe:
- in his first half of life, that he engineered by himself and failed:
The results of a dominating father on his only son
The brutality that accompanied male initiation
The impact of learning how to kill other men
The results of his male chauvinism and the experiences that dissolved it
The imbalance of his life created by competitive workaholism
- in his second half of life, which he began without a plan, i.e. unengineered:
The benefit of noticing what his mind is thinking
The advantage in relationships of discovering how his memory works
The profit in overcoming his discomfort with silence
The struggle to understand his anger
The rewards of being more open to the unengineered
And more . . .
This book helps advance the conversation about mens' roles in society, their communities and families. It doesn't tell you what to do, but presents a broad template of life that you can compare with your own experiences, beliefs, circumstances and wisdom. Consider discussing these stories with someone you care about. Advance the conversation.
REVIEWS
So, Dad, What Makes a Man is the well-told story of Tom Peerys journey toward maturity and self-awareness. The universality of his journey, combined with his unique experiences along the way, makes his story both compelling and instructive.
- Lee Roy Beach, Ph.D. (Psychology), author of seven books on thinking and personal decision making
Those inspired by the late psychiatrist M. Scott Pecks groundbreaking, 1980s-bestseller "The Road Less Traveled," will welcome the themes Tom Peery explores in refreshing ways. These cover wide-ranging ground relevant to navigating adulthood in general. Given the profound need for diverse voices of reason to promote positive messages and personal growth, Peery's story has potential to encourage others to stop, think and reflect more deeply.
- Fannie LeFlore, MS, LPC, CADC -- Editor of M. Scott Peck's "The Road Less Traveled and Beyond,"
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About the Author |
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Tom Peery is the supposed-authority on his life, but he's still working on it. He and wife Mance of thirty-seven years have two adult children. There was an engineering education, military hitch and corporate career--retired. Things changed after that. He's now a spiritual director at Houston's Cenacle Retreat House. |
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