Parenting Expert Offers Groundbreaking Look at How Fathers and Sons Influence Each Other

New book "My Father Before Me" Reveals Why Mothers Aren't the Only Influence on Children

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) July 18, 2007 -- For decades mothers were thought to be the only real influence on a child. But today we not only recognize that fathers have a unique and essential role to play in raising children--but that sons are also equally influential in the development of their fathers. Yet surprisingly little information is available on this important aspect of parenting.

In his new book, "My Father Before Me: How Fathers and Sons Influence Each Other Throughout Their Lives" (W.W. Norton & Company), award-winning clinical psychologist Michael J. Diamond offers an illuminating and fresh perspective on not only how fathers influence their sons, but also how sons affect their fathers. Diamond firmly establishes fatherhood as an essential event for the emotional and intellectual development of all the men in a family while providing a model for understanding the intricacies of the father-son bond.

"Today, we recognize that fathers have a unique and essential role to play in raising children," Diamond says. "A father does not merely supplement what a mother does but complements her role. He has an important impact on his child deriving from his fatherliness, from the fact that he is a man, extending from the day of conception, beyond his own death, until the day his child dies. Because of various biological, cultural, and psychological factors, the relationship between fathers and sons is particularly intricate and complex."

Using case studies from his own practice, Diamond shows how fathers and sons are uniquely positioned to help one another through each of life's major transitions. He argues that sons are largely responsible for helping their fathers embrace a more flexible notion of manhood, making them better partners and better parents. He also discusses the full arc of the father/son relationship including infancy, adolescence, young adulthood, and how men reverse roles as fathers approach old age.

Michael J. Diamond, a prominent psychoanalyst and clinical psychologist who was recently named Distinguished Psychoanalyst of the Year by the Institute for Psychoanalytic Training and Research, lives and practices in Los Angeles. He is available for interviews from Los Angeles. www.drmichaeljdiamond.com

###