Being a Dad Is Weird: Lessons in Fatherhood from My Family to Yours - Paperback

by Ben Falcone (Author)

A funny and intimate look at fatherhood from the actor and writer/director of The Boss and Tammy that combines stories about his own larger-than-life dad and how his experiences raising two daughters with his wife, Melissa McCarthy, who also penned the Foreword, are shaped by his own childhood.

Though he's best known for his appearances in the movie Enough Said, as well as his hilarious role as Air Marshall Jon in Bridesmaids, Ben Falcone isn't a big shot movie star director at home. There, he's just dad. In this winning collection of stories, Ben shares his funny and poignant adventures as the husband of Melissa McCarthy, and the father of their two young daughters. He also shares tales from his own childhood in Southern Illinois, and life with his father--an outspoken, brilliant, but unconventional man with a big heart and a somewhat casual approach to employment named Steve Falcone.

Ben is just an ordinary dad who has his share of fights with other parents blocking his view with their expensive electronic devices at school performances. Navigating the complicated role of being the only male in a house full of women, he finds himself growing more and more concerned as he sounds more and more like his dad. While Steve Falcone may not have been the briefcase and gray flannel suit type, he taught Ben priceless lessons about what matters most in life. A supportive, creative, and downright funny dad, Steve made sure his sons' lives were never dull--a sense of adventure that carries through this warm, sometimes hilarious, and poignant memoir.

It's a collection of stories about family, fatherhood, and the occasional testicle.

• Father-Son Relationship: Tales of growing up with Steve Falcone, an outspoken and unconventional man who taught Ben everything from the importance of friends to the art of falling asleep on the toilet.
• Relatable Parenting: From navigating school performances blocked by a sea of cell phones to dealing with his daughter's surprisingly theological questions about her "itchy vagina."
• Celebrity Memoir: An intimate look at life as the husband of Melissa McCarthy (who pens the Foreword) and the only man in a house with two strong-willed daughters and a dog in goggles.
• Parenting Humor: Discover the "Big Sky Theory," why you should never take vacation advice from a bird-watcher, and what happens when your dad eats the ears off every single chocolate Easter bunny.

Back Jacket

"Being happy is a choice. It is a choice my father has made. I'm going to teach my kinds the same thing. Because my dad is right: 'life is short; you might as well try and enjoy it.'"

Ben Falcone has had some strange moments in his journey as a father of two daughters--from overhearing the girls discussing the mysteries of God while making them pancakes to forgetting candy for the St. Patrick's Day leprechaun trap made by his kindergartner (St. Patrick's Day candy? Leprechaun traps?) to boiling with anger while attempting to get the tiniest glimpse of his child during a school performance across a sea of iPhones. Through these, and all the other strange, funny, and sometimes infuriating moments of parenthood, Ben's role model has been his own father. Known for his long and involved stories, his competitive nature on the basketball court, his colorful language, propensity for funny hats, and a somewhat casual approach to employment, Steve Falcone was a dad like no other.

Ben learned everything about being a man, a husband, and a father from his own dad. Steve Falcone taught Ben that fatherhood is all about showing up in the most important moments, and always making sure your kids know that you love and support them--even when your kids do really weird stuff.

In this charming and hilarious collection, Ben Falcone offers intimate and relatable stories about his adventures as a parent to his two daughters with his wife, Melissa McCarthy, but also his own childhood, and all that is wonderful and weird about life in the trenches as a parent. Because being a dad is weird . . . but also great.