Where Were You When I Needed You, Dad?: A Guide For Healing Your Father Wound

Regarding our fathers, all of us have feelings to feel and lessons to learn--especially if he was absent, judgmental, abusive or emotionally distant. Childhood or adolescent difficulties with dad affect how we feel about ourselves, how we perform in our work and how we relate in intimate relationships. Jane Myers Drew, a clinical psychologist, takes us through a healing process. She delineates the seven steps of healing the father wound, empathizes with our pain and cheers us on our way. She also helps us break through old behavioral patterns that started years ago in reaction to dad. Techniques for communicating with our dads in a new way are also presented.It is possible to come to peace with the part our fathers played in our lives. Our inner journey begins with awareness of our feelings and helps us release anger, resentment and sadness toward our dads. This book helps us grow beyond blaming our fathers. Most fathers wanted to love us and intended to give us a good start to life, but they are flawed--as we all are. When we look at the reality of their lives and childhoods, we can grow in empathy for why they acted as they did.On a larger soul level, our fathers served us by being and acting the way they did because it can help us grow. Our individuality and inner strength emerge as we struggle through our pain and look inward to discover all the parts of ourselves. Then we can actually appreciate what we went through with our dads and come to our own sense of wholeness.