Book Review: Where's Daddy?How Divorced, Single, and Widowed Mothers Can Provide What's Missing When Dad's Missing.

By Claudette Wassil-Grimm

The subtext should read: How Divorced,Single, and Widowed Mothers Can Excuse the Irresponsible Behavior of Their Ex's and Coddle Them Even Though They Want Nothing To Do With Their Children. I was extremely surprised that a woman wrote this.

Judging this book by it's cover, you would think that it would tell you how to raise your children without their father. This is not the case. The author repeatedly recommends keeping the child's father in their life no matter what they've done or how they are acting. In not so many words, she asserts that it is perfectly OK if your children's father continually flakes out on them and disappears for long periods of time. You should let him come back and intrude into their lives whenever he wants... whether he's been gone for 4 months or 4 years.

The author also gives a list of excuses for why (some) men are horrible fathers when they aren't in a relationship with the mother of their children. This is just my opinion, but dead beat fathers don't need to be excused. They need to step up or get the hell out of their kid's lives and stop damaging them by being so damn selfish. Most women aren't happy about being single mothers and the last thing a single mother wants to read is how to exempt her ex from any wrongdoing. AND if a single mother wanted to or could keep her child's father in the picture, then she wouldn't need this book would she?

There is a section in this book about unwed, single mothers. It talks about teenagers. Because we all know that no one over the age of 17 is a single mother. Everyone gets married by the time they are 18 and if they have children and are single it's because they are divorced or widowed. Is this author being serious? I found myself wondering if this book was some kind of satire at times.

The only section that actually is helpful to anyone at all is the section for widowed mothers. If you are a widowed mother, this book has some pretty good advice for you.

If you are at all angry, bitter, sad or have any kind of emotion towards your situation as a single mother, Do NOT read this book. Don't buy it. Don't check it out of the library. Just don't. Please.

In fact, even if you feel perfectly fine about your situation, please don't give this idiot any of your money.