
I Will Do Better
A Father's Memoir of Heartbreak, Parenting, and Love
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Narrated by:
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Charles Bock
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By:
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Charles Bock
About this listen
An acclaimed writer’s frank and tender memoir of parenting his toddler daughter in the wake of his wife’s untimely death
The novelist Charles Bock was a reluctant parent, tagging along for the ride of fatherhood, obsessed primarily with his dream of a writing career. But when his daughter Lily was six months old, his wife, Diana, was diagnosed with a complex form of leukemia. Two and a half years later, when all treatments and therapies had been exhausted, Bock found himself a widower—devastated, drowning in medical bills, and saddled with a daunting responsibility. He had to nurture Lily and, somehow, maybe even heal himself.
I Will Do Better is his pull-no-punches account of what happened next. Playdates, music classes, temper tantrums, oh-so-cool babysitters, first days at school, family reunions, single-parent dating, and a crippling citywide natural disaster were minefields especially treacherous for Charles and Lily because of their preexisting vulnerability: their grief.
Charles sought help from friends, family, and therapists, but this overgrown middle-aged boy-man and this plucky child became, foremost, a duo—they found their way together.
By turns comical and heartbreaking, I Will Do Better does not shy from moments of sadness, anger, or awkwardness. It’s the remarkable journey of two defiant and wounded people, and their personal growth in the name of love.
"A uniquely forthright and powerful addition to the literature of fatherhood."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
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What listeners say about I Will Do Better
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- Leesavee
- 10-21-24
Heartbreaking and heartwarming
This is simply one of the best books I have experienced. I was with Charles and Lily during the most difficult times of their lives as father and daughter, and I cried with them and cheered for them. And I mourned with them. Charles Bock is a deeply honest narrator of his and Lily’s experiences and it was an honor to be let in to the upheaval his wife’s tragic passing caused in both of their lives. Mr. Bock, if you ever read this review: you did do better. You did not break your child. You are so brutally honest with explaining your emotional state and your thoughts that I was sometimes aghast and other times moved to tears. This is an incredible book. Thank you, Charles and Lily Bock, for sharing it.
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