www.HowToLiveALifeOfAdventure.com

 

This is a request and an opportunity for you to express yourself concerning your father's death when you were a young man.

 

If you lost your father to an early death when you were between the ages of 8 and 18, you and I have much in common.  My father died instantly of a heart attack when I was 17.  He was 46.  His death changed my life radically from a happy kid, a kid who played sports with his dad, a kid who loved his dad, a kid who enjoyed the love of his dad—to instantly "no dad" ever again in my life.  I remember that day when my father's best friend came up to me in the parking lot to  tell me the news.  He leaned into the car window, "Frosty, I don't know how to tell you this, but  your father died umpiring the Albany High School game today."

 

From that point on, my life  changed from normal to not normal.  From happy to vacant.  From my dad being proud of me when I got a hit or scored a basket to no dad to be proud of me anymore.  Life and circumstances ripped my father out of my life.  It changed the way I thought, acted and lived my life.

 

Over the years, I have wished I could talk to him as a man, bicycle with him one day for a chat or sit by a campfire.  Always something in the back of my mind.  Millions of other men have lost their fathers, too, at a young age.  They feel the same way you feel.

 

You're invited to write an essay of 3,000 to 5,000 words describing your feelings, your pains, your triumphs or your sadness of losing your dad between the ages of 8 and 18.  That's when the most impact hit you because you were close to him and he was around the house and your connection was deepest and most profound.  Write about that moment when you learned of his death.  Write about your shock. Write about how you felt and what it meant to you then, and what it means now.  Write about how it has affected you over the years.  Write your feelings. Write about how you coped.  Write about how you didn't cope. Write about what it did to your life path. Write whether you liked him or not. Got along with him or not.  Write about his good and bad points.

 

I am going to write this book by weaving your story along with other men and connect the dots.  We intertwine our lives with the death of our fathers.  We share a common bond of pain, of anguish and the loss of the most important man in our lives.  Millions of men lost their fathers to an early death.  Your story will give them comfort, hope and ideas on how to deal with their own pain.

 

Once it publishes, you will receive a copy of the book.  You may leave your name out of it for your own privacy or I will only use a first name only.  You can write this essay or I can interview you with a tape recorder to get every detail of your story.  You have three months or more if needed to write your story.  If you know of  other men who would like to share their story, please forward to them.

 

Thank you for making this book possible:  When Your Father Left Too Soon

 

Life and light,

 

Frosty Wooldridge

Golden, Co

Frostyw@juno.com