The Dad Who Stayed and other stories - Paperback

by David Rodeback (Author)

"New and full of surprises." -2025 Utah Book Awards

"Every emotional payoff, whether flash-of-lightning funny or tearfully joyful, is earned through a rich depth of honesty that is the polar opposite of sentimentality." -Darrin McGraw, coauthor of Animal Future.

This collection of contemporary short fiction includes a novella with a Father's Day vibe, The Dad Who Stayed, and a dozen short stories.

In The Dad Who Stayed (a novella) Joey Robinson and his mom live in part of a house in an early-1970s progressive university town. He never met his dad, who left before Joey was born. When he was old enough to wonder about not having a dad, his mom said it was okay.

But when his kindergarten teacher disapproves, and Joey uses his dad as an excuse to run away too, his mom invites a man named Jack into their life. Now Joey wonders: Will he have to start calling this man Dad-and does he want to?

Twelve short stories in this collection explore friendship, family, love, memory, and loss in ordinary lives scattered from middle school to old age.