George Wenzel
George Wenzel asked Scott Berkun:

Your latest book, The Ghost of My Father, deals quite extensively with the relationship between you and your father. It also touches upon relationships between you and your mother and siblings. Have you given thought to how these relationships may play out with the next generation? If you ever have children, what legacy do you see for them?

Scott Berkun I have and it's complicated. My brother is a fantastic father and I think his relationship with his children is self contained. Nothing my parents or I do can touch what he has created inside his family. I do hope that something improves in the wider shape of our broader family, but the odds of that seem very slim.

I don't have children and don't expect to. It seems self serving to say, but if I did have children I'd hope they'd be willing to write a book like Ghost. Even if it meant I'd failed them in some way as a father (which is probably unavoidable), it would mean they've thought deeply about who they are, where they came from, and what they want to do about it, three things that signify despite my failings they've sorted themselves, at least part of the way.

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions

Learn more