Rocking Fatherhood: The Dad-to-Be's Guide to Staying Cool

by Chris Kornelis, Duff McKagan (Foreword)

Music journalist Chris Kornelis didn't know the first thing about pregnancy when his wife gave him the big news. Navigating the world as a father-to-be, amid the pressure to do everything "right," he realized that conventional wisdom and parenting experts don't always provide the best advice. Rocking Fatherhood provides a week-by-week guide to pregnancy and encourages new dads to take advantage of the twenty-first century opportunities for creative fatherhood roles that were unavailable to previous generations. This compelling guide covers everything from swaddling to sex. With wisdom gained through extensive reporting, personal experience, and advice from dads such as James Dyson (the vacuum guy), Julian Casablancas (The Strokes), Aaron Franklin (the BBQ king), and a special foreword by Guns N’ Roses co-founder Duff McKagan.

272 pages, Paperback

First published May 3, 2016

Reviews

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, it IS possible to remain cool and be a dad (despite what our children might tell us). It is a great account about a Guy trying to be a Guy, and a great dad, and how he does it. It is NOT what we would normally read in "traditional" father's books. However, it is not fantasy either. You can be a great dad, a cool dad, and still be you. However, there are sacrifices involved. Basically it is a live as you want, how you want, but remember you can't have everything. Find what is important to you and do what you have to in order to get it. I enjoyed this book because the author went/is going through some of the same challenges that I am and I think most father's who are reading book about father's are. This isn't just a person writing a book on his own experiences, he also did his research (he mentions it when he can throughout the book). Whether you are looking for a; is this normal, are other guys having the same issues as I am sort of book, or a how are other's doing it. This fits the bill. It is a fun and great ready in my honest opinion. Well Done.

[Jonathan Gormley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming book that grows on you. You can find instructive books on pregnancy; in fact would recommend The Expectant Father for being comprehensive and science-backed. But those books give you clinical facts, while this book sprinkles facts, jokes, conventional wisdom, and stories from its rock music journalist author. Structured more like a series of diary entries mixed with brief interviews with kind-of-celebrities' (the visual effects editor from the movie Interstellar and the bassist of Guns and Roses, as two examples) fatherhood tales. It's a book that feels like the kid from the movie Almost Famous met you at age 40 and he isn't following a golden god anymore but instead a couple of infants and a working wife. And he's got stories to tell. This book has a soul, which makes it enjoyable and readable for a father-to-be.

[Jodi Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure: Chris is my nephew! I love his writing and I have given this book as a gift to several expecting fathers and they have enjoyed it also. My mother in law is a bit put off by the graphic nature of the "poo" parts.

Seriously though, very funny, touching, filled with good information and a real delight!

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy fun read that was relatable and useful.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty cool book. Nice job by Kornelis.

[Alex Barron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting format: part memoir and part how-to book for new dads. I appreciated the general philosophy of avoiding freak-outs by confusing your wife's pregnancy with a medical emergency. Some of the anecdotes are more interesting than others. I appreciated his reflections about music and baseball (my two favorite things), although I wasn't always clear about the point they were intended to illustrate.

[Alexander K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed how down to earth Chris was with this book. Their are a a few areas where I disagreed with his final decision on some important issues but I didn't let that take away from how good the book was over all.