great expectation: a father's diary...reviews
"Dan Roche has perfectly captured the unique joys and heartaches of being a second-time dad. Serious without being somber, reflective but not sentimental, and with an ever-present dry wit, Great Expectation is a must-read for new and veteran dads alike."-Jason Avant, founder and managing editor, DadCentric.com
"Whether you are expecting, have expected or don't know what to expect, Roche welcomes you into to the fold with the kind of candor, humor and vulnerability usually reserved for family. This book expands the 'labor' of childbirth into a 9-month journey-and beyond-offering a refreshing play-by-play from the oft-overlooked father's perspective. While cycles of life swirl around him, Roche treads deftly down the one-way path to parenthood, interpreting all the obvious, and not so obvious, signposts with humor and sensitivity."-Jenifer Marshall Lippincott, author, 7 Things Your Teenager Won't Tell You (And How to Talk About Them Anyway)
"I loved spending time with Dan Roche and his family-and what an important time it was as they faced life and death with courage, humor, and grace. He takes us right into their house-the kitchen, bedrooms, and backyard-to remind us again of the importance of each day we are given. His prose is as beautiful as it is efficient. This is a man who thinks clearly and in metaphors, and he has given us a wonderful book about loss and arrival, about the beginning, middle, and end of life. Now we have a father who has written, as Anne Lamott did in Operating Instructions and Louise Erdrich in The Blue Jay's Dance, about the coming of a child. Mothers and children but especially fathers will thank him."-Elizabeth Stuckey-French, author, Mermaids on the Moon
"In his insightful and funny account of a father waiting for the birth of his second child, Dan Roche has written an honest and touching exploration of a husband's feelings and thoughts during his wife's pregnancy. Roche tells of many lighthearted and humorous moments while still poignantly describing the ups and downs of life, particularly in the context of the pregnancy. Women should buy a copy of this book for their husbands because it should be required reading for them: Roche is the voice of silent fathers everywhere."-Sharon O'Donnell, author, House of Testosterone: One Mom's Survival in a Household of Males