Parenting

Men at Forty

Men at forty Learn to close softly The doors to rooms they will not be Coming back to.At rest on a stair landing, They feel it Moving beneath them now like the deck of a ship, Though the swell is… Read more

Two young girls in white sleeveless shirts running on the beach toward the photographer.

Life After Birth?

In a mother’s womb were two babies. One asked the other: “Do you believe in life after delivery?” The other replied, “Why, of course. There has to be something after delivery. Maybe we are here to prepare ourselves for what… Read more

Young man looking into the distance from a rocky cliff

Fathers, Be Good to Your Sons

Many of us look forward to weekends, but more and more I’m saddened by a particular phenomenon. It’s the great number of young men out with their children with no mum in sight. It’s pretty clear that most of these… Read more

Suburban streetscape with the neon trail of speeding car lights

On Parenting

I just read a great article by Lori Gottlieb about the perils of raising kids today. Not what you might think — stranger danger and screen dreaming — but rather our lack of perspective and failure (my words) to reflect… Read more

Two figures in a studio lit up by the screen display of a grid test pattern

The Beloved Son

I wrote previously about the father-son archetype in therapy, with my views that men need to exorcise their demons and embrace their gods through meaningful conversation with other men. My thoughts on this originated through my ongoing work in a… Read more

A single Australian emu walking alongside a barbed wire fence in a field of dry grass

The Empty Nest Syndrome

I’m a man, but don’t let that throw you. I work full-time, write in my spare time, and I’ve raised three strapping young things to the verge of adulthood. I’ve been chief cook and bottle-washer, chauffeur, lawn-mower and friend-keeper. That’s… Read more

The author. The beach at Little Dip Conservation Park.

Where Has All The Magic Gone

I was walking along the beach on a beautiful spring morning in South Australia, feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the magic in the air, the kind that reminds you that you’re part of a great and mysterious universe. Being in my… Read more

Colourful block-long graffiti from the 2009 Brooklyn, New York, Art Under the Bridge Festival

The Gift of the Truculent Teenager

As an educator of teachers and counsellors, I never had to wait long to hear the next sentence that contains an expletive alongside the word “teenager.” Having raised three of my own, I’m not unrealistic about the challenges that they… Read more

The Father-Son Archetype in Therapy

I was recently asked to deliver professional development to some counsellors and psychotherapists on the topic of “men’s issues.” I left my son’s football game to do so and found a gathering of about 60 people. Perhaps 10 of these… Read more