Writer, Radio Presenter, photographer, lover of reasonably priced red wine… and a few other fings!

I was supposed to be the next Stephen King. That was my destiny. For years I consumed everything he wrote and listened to what he had to say about the art of writing. I even attempted to emulate him by developing a fondness for alcohol and other fun drugs but alas, it was not to be.

Because something happened to me.

Something that came right out of the blue and changed the trajectory of my life forever. It came and swept away so many of the freedoms and single-man benefits I’d come to enjoy. That I’d come to cherish. To rely on.

I became a we. Then we became an us.

Yes dear reader you’ve guessed it. I only went and fell in blinking love didn’t I! All of my dreams shattered. And I had so many dreams. Some were pretty basic and involved rude encounters and travelling to warm places but most revolved around staying up late, drinking wine, smoking, and writing the next best-selling novel that amusingly included subtle nods to Stephen King’s work throughout the years. Only Stephen or real diehard fans would notice and together we’d all smirk at the cleverness of it all.

But that smart arse only exists in another dimension now. He’s probably got chlamydia and suffers from terrible gout.

Ha!

So what did I get in return?

Everything I didn’t know I wanted! An amazing Wife, a beautiful Stepdaughter and two boys who you will often hear me refer to as the Sleep Thieves.

I used to think I could survive on very little sleep. It was easy for me to have a late night filled with drink and other delights then jump out of bed after two or three hours of sleep and head off to work. No problem. A smile on my daft face and an ignorant skip in my step.

The Sleep Thieves taught me the real meaning of sleep deprivation.

Becoming a husband and a dad has provided me with a great number of learning opportunities I was unprepared for and most definitely never asked to receive. The Wife likes to throw unexpected life-changing events my way like when she announced she wanted a home birth for our first son – about two months away from his due date. And that we were going to learn something called Hypnobirthing and we’d have a huge paddling pool ready to use in the corner of our bedroom.

Mind was blown.

This unexpected turn of events and the long list of others that followed led to something I never could have imagined. And I mean this sincerely because I didn’t realise I was actually looking for it… Personal Growth.

Slow head shake.

Yes becoming a dad changed my life and those dreams of becoming the British Stephen King were replaced with something entirely different. Although sometimes still just as scary and weird. See Soft Play: The Lost Tribe.

I became a writer of creative non-fiction and the book, Why Do They Always Shout? Memoirs of a Tired Dad was created. Originally aimed at fellow dads but mums have become its greatest advocates. Although they do try and include their partners by tagging them on Facebook posts with stuff like, “Dave, you’ve got to read this, it’s totally you.” Or, “Read this, John. This is our life!”

How else can I describe the book to you dear reader? I know, I’ll be lazy and share a recent review with you instead!

This book by Adam Glennon is full of personal experiences as a dad and anecdotes about his role as a partner and a father. His observations could be about any man who is or who will become a dad.

It is written with humour, sensitivity and in ‘bite size pieces’ – probably so that men who don’t usually read can manage a few pages each time they pick it up. If you like Russell Kane then you will like Adam Glennon.

He delivers his comments in the same style -quick, erudite and funny.

A really good read for men who are curious about being a father and for men who haven given it a second thought – that’s probably most men including me until it happened. Very enjoyable and deserves to be in every book shop across the world and in the homes of every man who is a dad or who is going to be a dad. That is a lot of homes but this book is that important.

Mick Wood