“Kevin Renner has written a modern-day book of wisdom revealed through the stories daughters tell of their fathers. He shares unique and privileged insights into not only what it means to be a father, but what it means to be human. As myself a father of two daughters and as a priest, this is the book I would place in the hands of a new father who seeks to understand the powerful and indelible bond which is created with the birth of a daughter. No reader will finish this book either unmoved or unchanged.”
The Rev. Stephen V. Schneider
“This is not a book you ‘can't put down.’ You will need and will want to put it down -- to ponder and let the lessons sink in. You will need to catch your breath and appreciate the pure joy in the stories of wonderful father/daughter relationships as well as to marvel at the daughters who triumphed in the face of horrific relationships with their fathers. It is clear that writing this book changed the author’s life. There is a good chance it will do the same for its readers.”
Kenton R. Hill, Ed.D., author of “Smart Isn't Enough: How Developing Your Emotional Intelligence Can Transform Your Life and Career”
“The interviews are often touching in their emotional rawness and the crystalline clarity with which many women – decades removed from their childhood – recall poignant moments with their fathers. As the book makes clear, it’s the small, special moments in daily life, rather than the grand, dramatic gestures, that seem to stick.”
James Broderick, PhD
New Jersey City University
“Paraphrasing Esther Perel (Mating in Captivity) who has said: ‘Tell me how you were loved, and I'll tell you how you make love,’ reading Kevin Renner's memoir of fatherhood prompts me to say to women, regardless of age, culture, or background: ‘Tell me if and how your father loved you as a child, and I'll tell you whether or not you have found love as a woman’.”
Charlene Kate Kavanagh, Ph.D., psychologist and author
“In the excellent In Search of Fatherhood…Renner offers his readers stories of fathers who were positive influences in their daughters’ lives, fathers who were both good and bad at parenting, and fathers who were absent, abusive, or harmful. These interviews are both heartwarming and heartbreaking, and readers can easily see themselves reflected in these women’s lives, making this book valuable for both fathers and daughters.”
San Francisco Review of Books
“In Search of Fatherhood is a collection of interviews from Kevin Renner as he sought fifty adult women from around the world in order to get an understanding of how the father is in our lives, be it for better, worse, and everything in between. Drawing on both their stories and his own recollections of fatherhood as a son and a father, In Search of Fatherhood is an excellent pick for anyone who also wonders what is the role of fatherhood.”
Midwest Review of Books
“I have to tell you that it's not often that I pluck our copy of a book from the shelf after reading the review and save it for myself. This morning, I did just that with your book. I stood in our hallway, reading a single chapter, and cried. What a lovely collection of stories. It reminds me of the special relationship I have with my dad, and I plan on giving this book to him after I'm finished.”
Heidi Komlofske, President & CEO
