Leo Buscaglia writes a very simple and emotion filled book about someone who was very important in his life, his father. This is a very small book, the type that you can put in your purse and read while waiting for an appointment. There are 125 pages of easy reading, written in 1989.

Within you find chapters dedicated to different aspects of the man that was important within shaping him into who he not only became, but who he shared with others in his books and tv show from long ago. If you are not familiar with Buscaglia and his style, this is a gentle and heart-filled look at the man and his approach to life.

The chapers are:
The Husband
The Educator
The Philosopher
The Oenophile (tell me of an Italian that doesn’t love their wine)
The Patriot
The Environmentalist
The Nurturer
The Last Days
Papa, the Legend and the Legacy

I will share a small portion of the book to give you a feel:

He lived by a positive code, the rules of which were uncomplicated and accessible to anyone wanting to live a good life.
Dance, sing, and laugh a lot.
All things are related.
Don’t waste time trying to reason with pain, suffering, life, and death.
An animated person animates the world.
Find a quiet place for yourself.
Birth and death are part of a cycle. Neither begins or ends with you.
Stay close to your God.
It’s crucial to love.
Idealism is a strength, not a weakness.
People are good if you give them a chance to be.
Discrimination, for any reason, is wrong.
Self respect is essential for life.
Except in the eyes of God, people are not created equal, so we are all responsible for those who can’t help themselves.
Cruelty is a sign of weakness.
Commitment and caring are the basic ingredients of love.
Love is indestructible and therefore the most powerful human force.
People who think they know-it-all can be dangerous.

Buscaglia shows within his book that there are indeed fathers – and then there are fathers. It is never too late, there is always the chance as long as you have breath. The book is special to me as it is the book that kept me sane as after my mother’s death – she was both father and mother to me, full of faults to be sure, but loved very much and still missed.

If you need a quick pick-me-up this is the fixer up book to help you along the way.