Rex McCann has interviewed more than forty New Zealand men for this book. He looks at the consequences of men being raised in a household where the father is absent through death or divorce, or because he is simply unavailable emotionally. Using the men's stories as a starting point, he examines what fathering really means, the nature of the passage from boyhood to manhood and the place of fathers in this passage, and the role of mothers in raising boys. Of special interest is a section offering practical guidance to men who are trying to heal their relationship with their father. Finally, Rex McCann looks at the new styles of father than are emerging as we face a new century.