Water For The Soul
A Father's Hope for His Son
by
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This book began as a journal to my son, in 1994. He was only five then. I am making it available to anyone, so that someday it can be available for him to find. It is written with the transcending love known only from creating a life to love; with the unmatched elation of having fulfilled my greatest ambition by becoming his father; with the sustaining joy of memories saved from days when we were together; with the clinging hope that he will become all the glory endowed within him.
It also is written with the unremitting pain of having been estranged from him by the animosity of divorce; with the consuming sorrow of missed memories from days that can never be recaptured; with the agonizing speculation about whether our relationship will ever resume.
As he matures and develops into his ambition, I fear the effect of my absence may cast a burdening shadow on his life. I employ my words, with the greatest expectation of duty and purpose, to offer him light into whatever cellars his psyche might descend; or tunnels that demand his exploration for self-knowledge; or darkness that prevents him from discovering the beauty of his spirit.
Additionally, may these words provide him consolation for despairing tears; guidance for an uncertain journey; resolve when doubt threatens; satiety for the hunger of his completion. But most of all, I hope these words will assure and convince him, that my love, since his conception, has never been false, has never wavered, has never been abandoned and has never stopped fostering the fervent desire to be his "Papa".
I also offer this book to the many parents, who like myself, live with the agony of a divorce-induced alienation from their children. The desire for them, constant and tormenting, is your worst starvation. The disconnection, painful and depressing, is your personal plague. The regret for an unrecoverable history, haunting and immeasurable, is your lifetime scar.
I hope my words will provide you with some solace, redemption and encouragement. To whatever end they can reaffirm your parental value and effect a rejoining of broken bonds, I would urge you to use them.
You must never lose hope.
Love depends on it.
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About the Book
If you could never see your child again, what would you want him to know about life?
Water For The Soul: A Father's Hope For His Son is one individual's response to that dilemma. Exiled by the animosity of divorce, Michael Tyler began a journal to his son, in an effort to fulfill his parental covenant, if but from a distant overture. His is a direct father-to-son appeal that endeavors to counter the consequences of absence with a legacy of insight, a confirmation of kinship and a fervent longing for reunion.
Written with the "blood knowledge" passed on by generations and conditioned by life's experiences, Water For The Soul conveys this intent with purposeful concern and depth. In so doing, it bears testimony to the enormity of love many men feel for their children and the unyielding devotion that sustains their paternal conviction.
Moreover, Water For The Soul tenders perspectives useful to anyone willing to engage the process of self-examination to gain personal enlightenment, a process all are encouraged to undertake, for the treasures unearthed within determine the value of our living.
Water For The Soul—learned from many, written for one, meant for all.
About the Author
Michael Tyler grew up in Chatam Village, on the southside of Chicago. The third son of four siblings, he experienced the family impact of divorce by age thirteen.
Reared by a mother rich in love and commitment, he completed college and went on to become a fitness consultant.
In time, he fulfilled his greatest ambition by becoming a father. And with that distinction, he esteems the value of all children by the hopeful promise of redemption and renewal inherent within them.
His guiding principle in life:
"Be ashamed to die, until you have won some victory for humanity."
| — Horace Mann |
Tyler continues to reside in Chicago with his loving wife, Julie and their remarkable son, Ziggi.