Back on the laptop, back to the Substack dashboard, and back to regular programming.
The New Fatherhood is coming up on its second anniversary. And it’s become much more than I ever could have imagined, when I hammered a few hundred words one January afternoon. I’ve spent a lot of time over the summer reflecting on where it’s going, and honing in on why it exists—not just for me, but for all of you.
Part of that is having a rethink of the cadence of the newsletter. I don’t want to be clogging up your inbox for the sake of a conversation every Friday. But, on the other hand, these threads have been a powerful way to get to know one another, and feed into some of the broader conversations and themes of the newsletter.
Enough about me. What do you think?
And a little follow-up. If you were to take over for a weekend, what would you ask here? There’s a big group of over 5,000 people, roughly 80% of them are dads (or soon to be.) What would you like to know?
(Also, to the many mums who read the newsletter—you’re welcome in the comments anytime, this weekend more than ever.)
One question I've been asking fathers recently is, what stops with you?
As in, when we talk about epigenetics, intergenerational trauma, and the toxic elements of patriarchy, what is something you're aware of that you do not want to pass down to your child(ren)?
And, conversely, what was something you learn growing up (either as a child or in becoming a man/father) that was helpful, that you do want to pass down, from that same place of awareness and clarity?
What is the biggest struggle or challenge you face as a dad that is rarely mentioned or talked about even in places like this?