A Review of Bobblehead Dad - 25 Life Lessons I Forgot I Knew by Jim Higley

Bobblehead Dad, written by Jim Higley, is a memoir of a dad who lives through divorce, co-parenting, and a cancer scare and shares his life lessons. Higley is an entertaining writer and has a way of making the lessons of his life real, touching and motivating to fathers everywhere.

On an airplane flight from Salt Lake City to Chicago to visit my grandchildren, I grabbed Jim Higley's new book Bobblehead Dad and read it on the trip. I was not quite sure what to expect in this book. I knew from the information I had read that it told Jim's story about his survival from cancer and I was worried that I would be depressed after reading the book. But I really enjoy personal accounts of fatherhood and family experiences, so I forged ahead.

I found myself totally engrossed in the book and hardly noticed the time going by. At the end, I was uplifted rather than depressed and truly felt as I seldom feel when reading books - I was sorry that it was over and felt that I had a made a new friend.

Jim Higley is a columnist with the Chicago Tribune and writes frequently about fatherhood issues on the web and elsewhere. I have enjoyed the occasional reading of Jim's Bobblehead Dad column in the Trib and his book had his same familiar and comfortable writing style. The book not only addressed his current life, but was a retrospective on his growing up years and on his family experience with cancer.

Cancer was the unifying theme of Bobblehead Dad, connecting three generations. Jim lost his father to cancer at an early age, his mother to cancer later, and then a cherished older brother. So while his diagnosis with prostate cancer was not a surprise, it was a moment of truth for him and his children.

The book focuses on 25 key life lessons that Jim has gained, and each one is accompanied by anecdotes from his life and his role as a father. Some of the great stories had me laughing on the plane, to the consternation of my seatmates. The story about snooping on his parents giggling in the bedroom was priceless (and it is not what you are thinking). And the life lessons are all poignant and meaningful for any father.

All dads live through some adversity in life. It may be cancer or divorce, like Jim has experienced, or it may be illness, death of a child, a job loss or accident. But the life lessons Jim shares are equally applicable, regardless of a father's situation.

Jim's book was a cause of some serious reflection for me, and I suspect he wants it that way. I thought about what I have learned as a dad, what I still need to teach my children and grandchildren, and what I can convey to others as well.

At once inspiring and thought provoking, Bobblehead Dad is a book I would recommend to any father who feels a need to return to the roots of his fatherhood. It reminds us of the things that really matter and what we need to do to really matter in the lives of our families and children.

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.