What I Would Tell Her

May 3, 2010
In this follow-up to Because I Love Her: 34 Women Writers Reflect on the Mother-Daughter Bond, editor Richesin presents 28 candid, personal essays that demonstrate why "fathers are arguably the most important men in their daughters' lives." Steering clear of straight sentimentality and saccharine stereotypes, writers including Steve Almond, Rob Spillman, Richard Nash, and Thomas Beller contribute essays that are funny, hopeful, inspiring and sad-often at once. In a funny, vulnerable letter for his pre-teen daughter to read on her 18th birthday, single dad Trey Ellis wonders how she'll feel about his racy memoir Bedtime Stories. Daniel Raeburn's brave, heartbreaking essay, meanwhile, recounts the still-birth of his daughter, who they had already named Irene: "Her name came to me in the night while I was falling asleep, her hands and feet drumming against Rebekah's belly and my palms." Writing with their daughters in mind, each contributor has put obvious care and passion into his piece, turning out anecdotes and insight that will resonate with anyone who has a family.