Pregnancy, Fatherhood, and the Man Book!

I know I've definitely been weak the past few months in doing anything with this blog. Honestly, most of that is due to me wondering what I want to do with writing. And, more importantly, what I want to do with my life (or, for the more spiritual, what God wants to do with my life). I've been an English teacher for ten years, two years at the middle school level (never going there again...), and eight years at the high school level, teaching English, writing, and speech classes (and behavior, etiquette, respect, higher-level/life changing thinking--you get the point). Without going into all the inner workings of my thought life, let's just say that, like many people, I'm interested in possibly pursuing something else. That may or may not include the education world, and may just simply be a hobby. Who knows? But I tell my students all the time to not be complacent and to not live status-quo lives, or at least maybe I've said that once at track practice, so I better live by what I preach.

 I've always been interested in writing, not the antiquated essay writing I teach to my students, but real writing that could actually be of benefit to the reader. Having said that, while I have multiple topics and ideas I'd like to address, one that currently remains most dear to my heart is that of the man's role in pregnancy and fatherhood. I don't want to write about something that has already been written about, and anything I've found about men and pregnancy/fatherhood is limited to idealistic or extra serious views of the topic, not that those aren't needed because have you looked at the world around us, we all need help. Or, the books are written by women. No offense, but seriously, would a women want me writing about what it's like to breast-feed or what it's like to actually give birth...no! I'd have my head cut off. Now, I need your help. My thought is to make this short and entertaining, small enough to put in the bathroom or on the coffee table. I've been brainstorming, researching, and talking to others about what steps to take next. You can help me by responding to any of the following questions:

  1)Would your husband read a 50-75 pg. book about the realities of pregnancy, the birth process, and the first year? 2)Females, if you've already had children, do you think it would have been beneficial to get perspective on what your husband was thinking as you went through the process? 3)Do you think your husband would see that as good reading material? 4)Men, would you have found it beneficial to read a man-friendly book about pregnancy and fatherhood that wasn't hundreds of pages long like What to Expect When You're Expecting and all those heavy reading books (literally and figuratively)? You can either comment on the blog (I changed the settings so you shouldn't need an account) or you can email me at www.mattfaithperkins@gmail.com. Please be free and honest with your thoughts.