Lost and Found: Young Fathers in the Age of Unwed Parenthood

Paul Florsheim and David Moore, Oxford University Press, 2020

This book chronicles the lives of young fathers at a time when our notions of family are being redefined. The men featured face different challenges while transitioning to parenthood. Some “find themselves” in fatherhood, but others get lost and disconnected from their children. Paul Florsheim, a professor of community and behavioral health promotion at UWM’s Joseph J. Zilber School of Public Health, and the University of Puget Sound’s David Moore offer a model of the “good-enough father,” countering all-or-nothing stereotypes of fathers as deadbeats or heroes. They also draw heavily from the perspectives of young mothers, whose stories about their partners add balance and depth to understanding fathers and fatherhood. The book ends with an innovative proposal for father-inclusive prenatal care to help stabilize young families.