Akili Kumasi has written a cut-to-the-chase book addressed to absent or separated fathers! First, the facts and statistics are laid out plainly and starkly, from which any semi-intelligent person would conclude that CHILDREN NEED GOOD FATHERS!

Then the author provides some very practical or realistic solutions that fathers can specifically use in a way that God intended. Model stories to which fathers and sons can relate show what the most insignificant moment or event can create in the life of a child. Enjoyable and potent, these accounts propose that consciousness, faithful consciousness, can contribute to rather than detract from nurturing a child needing guidance, love, and discipline into a responsible, caring and well-adjusted adult.

Consider, for a moment, the example of Willie Mays up at bat and what that created in this author's mind. One could focus on the flubs that led to two strikes, provoking jeers from the stands, or the final contact with Mays' bat and the ball which produced a grand slam home run! The reality is fathering has both perspectives, and one consciously chooses to keep pursuing the goal no matter how many mess-ups happen along the journey! Another significant reality is the way the author addresses the bitterness and anger that remains too often long after a separation and divorce between formerly united or married mates. Deal with it by dealing with one's self, the author states, and he backs up his advice with his own experience. The frankness and honesty are disarming but brook no weak response!

Many of the things cited in this book we might surmise are known by most thinking adults, but the reality of a huge divorce rate, fatherless children of single-parent families, and an increasing dominance of individuals wanting instant gratification in both work and play situations says the advice is truly unknown in practice. So this is a quality work that all parents should read as well as the single Dads who are the intended focus.

Kudos to you, Mr. Kumasi, for this significant work which hopefully will positively impact many fathers, ex-lovers, and children! May your prayer be realized with the publication of On The Outside Looking In...

Reviewed by Viviane Crystal on April 11, 2006

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