Geezer Dad: How I Survived Infertility Clinics, Fatherhood Jitters, Adoption Wait Limbo, & Things That Go "Waa" In The Night

by Tom LaMarr

They thought it was about time to have a kid. No big deal. Until it was. Then their lives went from fooling around to hormone shots, test tubes, embarrassing doctor visits, and more. But there’s no sad, mopey story here. Tom LaMarr handles the journey to fatherhood like he handles the rest of life – with enough humor to make even the most stoic wanna-be-dad laugh with recognition. Follow this funny father on his quest to become the one thing that eluded him: becoming the someone she calls “Daddy.”

198 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 22, 2015

About the author

Three separate publications hailed Tom LaMarr's print debut, October Revolution, as a "remarkable first novel." Catch-22 author Joseph Heller wrote, "Read your novel with much ease, excitement, and pleasure. I found it 'a lighthearted, dandy satire with a humorous plot and a variety of deft pops at many deserving targets.'"

Publishers Weekly called Hallelujah City "a hectic, full-bodied account of a troubled young lady enmeshed in a bizarre religious cult," adding, "The plot is stocked with enough tension to hook readers until the chaotic, fiery climax." The Boulder Sunday Camera enthused, "Hallelujah City, like October Revolution, is a fast and funny read. Humor isn't easy to pull off, but LaMarr does it effortlessly... Yet Hallelujah City is a melancholy novel, a meditation on mistakes that can never really be unmade. That tension, between laughter and tears, makes it deeper and more complex than many a New York Times bestseller."

Geezer Dad, LaMarr's funny, heartfelt memoir about getting a late start at parenting, is out now. Karin Evans, author of The Lost Daughters of China, calls it, "an engaging human journey, both heartwarming and hilarious." The story of his transformation from career-minded guy who wasn't completely sure he wanted children to age-impaired dad pulling out reading glasses in the supermarket's baby aisle, Geezer Dad will resonate with older first-time parents and parents-to-be, as well as those still contemplating the journey. Whether 36 or 63, late starters will see this book as a welcome source of laughter and reassurance, while finding useful information based on firsthand experience. The book is also recommended for the chronically curious, baffled by questions like, "Where are all these old guys with baby strollers coming from?" and "Are they going to make it up that hill?" Representing societal change at its most sweeping, the graying of parenthood is no short-term trend. These old new dads aren't going anywhere, at least not quickly, and now we can see exactly what they're up to, thanks to the sweet, funny memoir that is Geezer Dad.

After growing up on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River in Dubuque, Iowa, Tom lived and worked in Council Bluffs and Des Moines, then Jacksonville, Florida, and the District of Columbia. He studied at the University of Iowa Fiction Writers Workshop, and has called Colorado home for more than two decades.

Visit www.tomlamarr.com to learn more about Tom's writing, train hopping, bear wrestling, and helping out Jerry Seinfeld.

Reviews

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tom LaMarr shares the man's perspective on fatherhood. Through the heartbreak of his wife's 2 miscarriages and the attempts at IVF, the couple eventually chooses adoption.

Tom's journey includes humorous insights and comments about each of the methods they took before deciding on adopting their daughter. The other issue Tom highlights are the potential difficulties of becoming a parent in middle age.

The chapters dealing with the checks and balances of approving parents for adoption are informative. Anyone considering either an international or domestic adoption would benefit from Tom's book, "Geezer Dad".

Thank you GoodReads for the book.

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Read it from beginning to end - couldn't put it down. Laughed, rolled my eyes, and cried. Wonderful for anyone who's been there - male or female!

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

LaMarr tackles the tough subject of adoption with quirky humor and unique analogies.

[Lyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was actually pretty good! The author did a great job of keeping a potentially extremely boring story interesting. He has a great sense of humor, which showed in a few spots of the book. Some spots, of course, weren't very interesting, but at the end, I did want to know more about his daughter.
Note: I received this book for free through Goodreads GIveaways.