What My Daughters Taught Me by Joseph Wakim is an autobiography or memoir (I confess I am unsure if there is a difference. Does an autobiography cover a whole life? How is a memoir different and should it contain things to remember like shopping lists??).
In 2003 Joseph lost his wife Nadia to breast cancer and found himself the solo dad to three amazing girls aged 4, 9 and 11. This book tells the story of their next 12 years together and the ways in which he learnt to both hold on to the important bits and let go of the bits that needed to be let go of.
As he worked, parented, grieved and tried to create a safe haven he garnered all sorts of insights.
This book has laugh out loud moments, cry moments and a whole lot of information that a solo father of girls has to discover along the way. I loved the way that Wakim writes with self-deprocation and honesty and I think there is lots to learn for anyone, as well as an insight into a beautiful and healthy relationship forged in the hardest of circumstances.
Details - Allen & Unwin, July 2015, RRP$32.99 also available as an ebook.
love you more than a family band xxx
