What do you think?
Rate this book
Dear Dad
If you could tell your dad anything, what would it be?
Steve Waugh, Trent Dalton, Samuel Johnson, Kathy Lette, John Williamson, Susie Youssef, Michala Banas, Glenn Shorrock, Matilda Brown, Joel Creasey, Shannon Noll, Michelle Law, Ben Gillies, Hilde Hinton, Normie Rowe, Mark Brandi, Brian Mannix, Julie Koh, Sara Storer, Russell Morris, Catherine Deveny, Sophie Green, Brooke Davis, Toni Tapp Coutts, Clare Wright, Danny Green, John Paul Young, Kurt Fearnley and many more ...
A heartfelt, honest and very human book of letters that will make you smile and make you cry. It is the perfect gift for the dad in your life. And a reminder to say how you feel before it is too late.
- GenresNonfiction
170 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 23, 2019
9 people are currently reading
88 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
October 11, 2024
‘But to me you will always be Dad’
November 4, 2019
Fathers Day 2019 with love.
My amazing wife bought me this beautiful book and arranged for my three children to write me a Dear Dad letter, which she inserted in small envelopes in the book. She also inserted a poem she wrote at the front, “...a fathers wisdom cannot be found in the palm of his own hand, but in the hands of those he holds..”
I read my children’s letters immediately with emotion and have since savoured the book. Whilst reading the letters I reflected as a father and son. It was the Best Fathers Day gift. Love you Nicole.😘
My amazing wife bought me this beautiful book and arranged for my three children to write me a Dear Dad letter, which she inserted in small envelopes in the book. She also inserted a poem she wrote at the front, “...a fathers wisdom cannot be found in the palm of his own hand, but in the hands of those he holds..”
I read my children’s letters immediately with emotion and have since savoured the book. Whilst reading the letters I reflected as a father and son. It was the Best Fathers Day gift. Love you Nicole.😘
August 2, 2019
This is a darling little hardback book stuffed full of heartfelt letters to fathers. Each letter is carefully edited and with a touching foreword from Samuel Johnson OAM. Some are brief, more notes than letters, some are full of love, some are wishing their Dad would die already. All are honest, moving and memorable.
The contributors gave their most personal words for free and the proceeds from the purchase of Dear Dad go to fight the war on cancer. A book that gives more than just all the feels.
Dear Dad left me reflecting on my own relationship with my Dad and Grandad and left me feeling extremely lucky. Of all the men in all the world, I got two that loved and love me dearly to the moon and back. How empty it must feel to live a life without that love and support and how courageous and brave are the people who have crappy parents and choose to be better people for it and break the cycle. You are legends.
You can’t choose your family, but you can choose what kind of person they make you.
Buy Dear Dad for the Dad in your life for Fathers Day, or just to share a message of love.
September 16, 2024
Thanks for it all, Dad. I love being your daughter.
As expected, there are tearjerker letters here. What I do love about the overall collection is that there were also letters written to absentee / adoptive / asshole dads. Because let's face it, there really are dads that some people are better off without.
Since the personalities are Aussies and a lot of their reminiscing are about their life here, those bits I really couldn't relate with.
But this made me want to start writing the same to my dad. I doubt I'll give it to him though. We're close, but we're also not at that level of this cheesiness. Char.
(Who knows, maybe I can publish too.)
3.5 stars
January 3, 2020
Much better than Dear Santa, but still some letters from celebrities of variable quality.
June 28, 2020
Loved the concept for this book, loved the showcase of the diversity of dads & father figures. Loved the lessons, messages & love & care Dad’s bring to the world. Makes me want to write my own letter to my Dad.
March 26, 2021
A gorgeous little book with some lovely little letters to dad. I didn't know who most of the "celebrities" were, but I certainly appreciated the variety of letters as you can tell each and every writer had a different relationship with their dad. Very special.
April 5, 2020
Heartfelt letters written by people of influence about their fathers or those people who were father figures in their lives. An easy read. An emotional ride.
July 1, 2021
A beautiful collection of letters written by prominent Australians to their Dads.
February 14, 2025
‘If you could tell your dad anything, what would it be?
Steve Waugh, Kathy Lette, Trent Dalton, John Paul Young, Danny Green, Kurt Fearnley, Samuel Johnson, John Williamson, Susie Youssef, Michala Banas, Glenn Shorrock, Normie Rowe, Matilda Brown, Shane Jacobson, Brooke Davis, Christie Whelan Browne, Shannon Noll, Russell Morris, Shaun Tan, Michelle Law, Ben Gillies, Hilde Hinton, Mark Brandi, Brian Mannix, Russell Morris, Catherine Deveny, Sophie Green, Toni Tapp Coutts …
A heartfelt, honest, and very human book of letters that will make you smile, and make you cry. It is the perfect gift for the dad or dad figure in your life. And a poignant reminder to say how you feel before it is too late.
With illustrations by Shaun Tan.
All contributors have donated their work and every sale of the book contributes to cancer research.’
This book was beautiful.
Having read and loved Dear Mum, Dear Santa, Dear Lover, and Heroes Next Door I was excited to finally get my hands on this book. I went into this book with high expectations and I am very happy to say I wasn’t at all disappointed.
I loved getting to read the personal stories and histories of a wide sampling of famous Australians; both the heartwarming and the heartbreaking. The fact that these letters are so personal and were written with such emotion made for a really moving reading experience.
The way in which the letters were paired up with illustrations by Shaun Tan added some visual elements to this book that I really enjoyed. As the illustrations were only lightly scattered throughout this book I feel I appreciated them more when they appeared.
I am so glad that I now own this book and I know that this is one of those books that I will return to many times in the future.
Dear Dad by Samuel Johnson is a must-read for everyone.
Geramie Kate Barker
gemsbooknook.wordpress.com
Steve Waugh, Kathy Lette, Trent Dalton, John Paul Young, Danny Green, Kurt Fearnley, Samuel Johnson, John Williamson, Susie Youssef, Michala Banas, Glenn Shorrock, Normie Rowe, Matilda Brown, Shane Jacobson, Brooke Davis, Christie Whelan Browne, Shannon Noll, Russell Morris, Shaun Tan, Michelle Law, Ben Gillies, Hilde Hinton, Mark Brandi, Brian Mannix, Russell Morris, Catherine Deveny, Sophie Green, Toni Tapp Coutts …
A heartfelt, honest, and very human book of letters that will make you smile, and make you cry. It is the perfect gift for the dad or dad figure in your life. And a poignant reminder to say how you feel before it is too late.
With illustrations by Shaun Tan.
All contributors have donated their work and every sale of the book contributes to cancer research.’
This book was beautiful.
Having read and loved Dear Mum, Dear Santa, Dear Lover, and Heroes Next Door I was excited to finally get my hands on this book. I went into this book with high expectations and I am very happy to say I wasn’t at all disappointed.
I loved getting to read the personal stories and histories of a wide sampling of famous Australians; both the heartwarming and the heartbreaking. The fact that these letters are so personal and were written with such emotion made for a really moving reading experience.
The way in which the letters were paired up with illustrations by Shaun Tan added some visual elements to this book that I really enjoyed. As the illustrations were only lightly scattered throughout this book I feel I appreciated them more when they appeared.
I am so glad that I now own this book and I know that this is one of those books that I will return to many times in the future.
Dear Dad by Samuel Johnson is a must-read for everyone.
Geramie Kate Barker
gemsbooknook.wordpress.com
September 17, 2019
It will pull on your heart strings and make you laugh as well.
I received this book as a gift for Father’s Day and it is illustrated by Shaun Tan, so I was excited to read it.
There is real emotion behind these letters, emotion that is universally experienced between humans.
Many of these letters act as reminders for current dads and dads to be. Some are positive and some are tragic, but that is life. We all experience different things that make us who we are today.
The nature of this book, although is specific to dads, you could easily substitute dad for mum too.
Most of what is shared in this hardback is personal, some writers went all out and opened a world of insight that would have otherwise been a story never told. I am grateful to have read this, because some of what I read were words of gold and have struck multiple cords within me.
It is difficult to criticise a book like this, so I say the next part with no disrespect. Some letters were short, repetitive and some seemed as if not much thought went into them, but that is okay. Not as impactful as some deeper more complex letters were, but all had the sense of yearning, longing and gratitude. I would have also loved more diversity with the illustrations from Shaun Tan, as I am a big fan of his work.
A great gift for dads everywhere, and one book well worth your investment. It stays with you for a long time and tickles that nostalgic itch.
My Creative Writing Blog | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
I received this book as a gift for Father’s Day and it is illustrated by Shaun Tan, so I was excited to read it.
There is real emotion behind these letters, emotion that is universally experienced between humans.
Many of these letters act as reminders for current dads and dads to be. Some are positive and some are tragic, but that is life. We all experience different things that make us who we are today.
The nature of this book, although is specific to dads, you could easily substitute dad for mum too.
Most of what is shared in this hardback is personal, some writers went all out and opened a world of insight that would have otherwise been a story never told. I am grateful to have read this, because some of what I read were words of gold and have struck multiple cords within me.
It is difficult to criticise a book like this, so I say the next part with no disrespect. Some letters were short, repetitive and some seemed as if not much thought went into them, but that is okay. Not as impactful as some deeper more complex letters were, but all had the sense of yearning, longing and gratitude. I would have also loved more diversity with the illustrations from Shaun Tan, as I am a big fan of his work.
A great gift for dads everywhere, and one book well worth your investment. It stays with you for a long time and tickles that nostalgic itch.
My Creative Writing Blog | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
January 2, 2020
A collection of letters written by sons and daughters to their respective fathers. Some authors didn’t know their fathers, others knew them and lost them and some have it had terrific relationships with their dad. A beautiful read.
August 15, 2019
What a beautiful little book. I only recognised a few of the 'notable' Australians who summitted letters to this book, but it was fascinating to see the variety of relationships people have/had with their Dad (or substitute Dad).
There were a lot of letters to Dads that have now passed away and a few felt a little repetitive, but most of the letters were interesting.
The letter that will stay with me the longest is the one by Catherine Deveny. I hope the day when I get to send my sister the text saying 'The c*nt's dead' is not to far away. I too want to feel 'happy, relieved, liberated, at peace'. Thank you for your letter. It gives me hope.
And profits from this book go towards cancer research - so get out there and buy your copy :)
There were a lot of letters to Dads that have now passed away and a few felt a little repetitive, but most of the letters were interesting.
The letter that will stay with me the longest is the one by Catherine Deveny. I hope the day when I get to send my sister the text saying 'The c*nt's dead' is not to far away. I too want to feel 'happy, relieved, liberated, at peace'. Thank you for your letter. It gives me hope.
And profits from this book go towards cancer research - so get out there and buy your copy :)
September 28, 2023
Favourite:
“You taught me about fairness and humility. You taught me that money, status and power, although aspiration, don’t define a person; that’s in their character, their generosity. You taught me to appreciate the simple things in life, to make my bed bed everyday and never to take things for granted. You taught me not to live life in fear and avoidance, to show up for my family and that it’s good to push myself and absolutely fine to fail”
~pg 16
“You taught me about fairness and humility. You taught me that money, status and power, although aspiration, don’t define a person; that’s in their character, their generosity. You taught me to appreciate the simple things in life, to make my bed bed everyday and never to take things for granted. You taught me not to live life in fear and avoidance, to show up for my family and that it’s good to push myself and absolutely fine to fail”
~pg 16
October 19, 2019
Dear Samuel
What a thoughtful & thought provoking idea, inspired by Dear Santa.
Dear Mum? - perhaps too large a project. But what about Dear Sibling? - the contributors being unknown persons (Insert thinking emoji)?
xx
What a thoughtful & thought provoking idea, inspired by Dear Santa.
Dear Mum? - perhaps too large a project. But what about Dear Sibling? - the contributors being unknown persons (Insert thinking emoji)?
xx
September 28, 2019
It’s that book that can make you eyes tear up, your heart sinks and urge you to write a letter to your own dad and family.
October 13, 2019
Light and entertaining read. I love that proceeds go to charity for the fight against cancer.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews