{"product_id":"i-will-do-better-a-fathers-memoir-of-heartbreak-parenting-and-love-9781419774423","title":"I Will Do Better: A Father's Memoir of Heartbreak, Parenting, and Love","description":"\u003cb\u003eBy turns comical and heartbreaking, \u003ci\u003eI Will Do Better\u003c\/i\u003e is the remarkable journey of two defiant and wounded people, and their personal growth in the name of love.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eNamed one of the Best Books of the Year by \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Named one of the Best Books of the Fall by Oprah Daily and \u003ci\u003ePeople\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"A uniquely forthright and powerful addition to the literature of fatherhood.\" \u003ci\u003e(Kirkus)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The novelist Charles Bock was a reluctant parent, tagging along for the ride of fatherhood, obsessed primarily with his dream of a writing career. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e But when his daughter Lily was six months old, his wife, Diana, was diagnosed with a complex form of leukemia. Two and half years later, when all treatments and therapies had been exhausted, Bock found himself a widower--devastated, drowning in medical bills, and saddled with a daunting responsibility. He had to nurture Lily, and, somehow, maybe even heal himself. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eI Will Do Better \u003c\/i\u003eis Charles's pull-no-punches account of what happened next. Playdates, music classes, temper tantrums, oh-so-cool babysitters, first days at school, family reunions, single-parent dating, and a citywide crippling natural disaster--were minefields especially treacherous for Charles and Lily because of their preexisting vulnerability: their grief. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Charles sought help from friends, family, and therapists, but this overgrown, middle-aged boy-man and his plucky child became, foremost, a duo--they found their way together. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e This frank and tender memoir of parenting his infant daughter in the wake of of his wife's untimely death is \"bracingly honest [and] tender,\" commented \u003ci\u003ePublshers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e. \"Single parents will find much to identify with in this warts-and-all account.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCharles Bock\u003c\/b\u003e is the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of the novels \u003ci\u003eBeautiful Children\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eAlice \u0026amp; Oliver\u003c\/i\u003e, and a creative writing professor at New York University. The father of two daughters, he lives in New York City.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Abrams Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50874684211474,"sku":"9781419774423","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_ae208565-e74d-4afb-b46c-3af549a9cf80.jpg?v=1738004039","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/i-will-do-better-a-fathers-memoir-of-heartbreak-parenting-and-love-9781419774423","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}