"When "Big Mike" Cummings asked Jorja Leap to co-lead a group for men learning how to father their children, she had no idea what to expect. What unfolds in these pages is the story of Project Fatherhood and its members as they meet every Wednesday night in Watts- the epicenter of violence in Los Angeles. The struggles the book illuminates are heartbreaking, infuriating and hilarious. Over time, the fathers both support and argue with one another about the best strategies for raising children and dealing with "significant others." Their family relationships are freighted with joy and uncertainty. But the story moves into deeper territory as the men confront long-term loss and trauma, the chronic pressure of poverty and the unquenchable desire to somehow do better and provide more for the next generation." --