21st Century Dads: A Father's Journey To Break The Cycle Of Father Absence
For David Hirsch, the Dads Honor Ride was a daunting 2,300+ mile, 21-day journey to honor dads and raise awareness for the importance of fathers and father figures. With an estimated 24 million kids growing up without their dad in the home, the ripple effect is a higher incidence of drug and alcohol abuse, incarceration and crime, depression, and suicide. The cycle of father absence is devastating the lives of countless youth, crushing families, and crippling communities.
With passion, discipline, and courage David takes us along on the Dads Honor Ride journey from Santa Monica to Chicago. He shares personal reflections about overcoming fear, his struggles to find his identity, forgive his own absent father, and break his family’s cycle of father absence. More actuary than athlete, David pushed himself past his own limits. Along the way, he discovered that the journey of fatherhood is filled with potholes, flat tires, wrong turns, and closed roads that all contain valuable lessons. Hoping to shed light on the dark statistics that are the children of absent fathers, David has become a formidable voice for 21st Century Dads.
“David Hirsch is a mover and leader in the ‘Fathering’ movement.” —Ken Canfield, PhD, Founder, National Center for Fathering
“I applaud David’s effort to draw attention to the urgent need to encourage greater father involvement.” —Jim Edgar, former Governor of Illinois
“A moving, deeply engaging story that will inspire you to dive in harder than ever to the greatest job a man can ever have—fatherhood.” —Jonathan Eig, New York Times best-selling author of Luckiest Man
“Riding 100+ miles a day for three weeks takes a level of commitment and perseverance few possess. I admire his Dads Honor Ride accomplishment and more importantly, the commitment he brings to bridging the gap for those growing up without dads.” —Lon Haldeman, ultramarathon cyclist, eight-time transcontinental record holder
“David Hirsch continues to bring his indispensable message of the role dads play in the 21st century. It spells bright future, and we are grateful that David changes lives!” —Frances Hesselbein, President & CEO The Frances Hesselbein Leadership Institute
“David Hirsch has tapped into just how important a father is to the family structure, and I applaud his insight into that aspect of our society.” —Joe Mantegna, actor, Criminal Minds
About David Hirsch (Chicago, Illinois Author)
David A. Hirsch is the father of five young adults, works full-time as a wealth advisor at UBS, and is the founder of 21st Century Dads Foundation whose mission is: Improving the lives of children by raising awareness and resources for greater father involvement, and inspiring dads to be present; physically, emotionally, financially, and spiritually. He also is founder of the 20+ year old Illinois Fatherhood Initiative, the country’s first state wide non-profit fatherhood organization. All proceeds from this book benefit the 21st Century Dads Foundation.