I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
What Do You Remember, Dad? by Ryan Buckley Published by Self-published on February 10, 2022
Pages: 28
Format: eBook
Source: Provided by author for honest review
What Do You Remember, Dad? explores the way parents and children see each other and experience everyday events differently.
This heartwarming text with beautiful illustrations brings parent and child closer as they explore the honest truth about getting older and the lasting love between a parent and their child.
What do you remember?
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What do you remember, Dad? is a picture book with read-aloud potential and the theme serves as a discussion point for parents explaining the topic of growing older and addressing the fears kids have about outgrowing their parents.
The text is 28 pages long in 12 full-page color spreads. The left side of the spread is the child describing a memory, like a dad catching boatloads of fish or winning a foot race. The right side is the dad's candid response, describing what really happened.
Author Interview
At what point did you decide to be an author and what was your path to publication?
My first book, The Parallel Entrepreneur, is a non-fiction business book. I wrote it when I was in between jobs and had some time to reflect on the ups and downs of starting my own tech companies. I enjoyed the entire process and threw myself into writing a novel the following year. Three years later, I’m still editing the novel!
What do you do when a new idea jumps out at you while you’re still working on a book? Do you chase the squirrel (aka “UP syndrome”) or do you finish your current project first?
This children’s book came up all of a sudden and I completed it, start to finish, in just three months. So I’m definitely a squirrel chaser. If I feel that I can finish the project in a reasonable amount of time then I will run after for it.
Describe your writing process. Do you outline, plot and plan, or is your writing more organic?
I subscribe to the Stephen King mentality of letting my characters do the writing. When I’m in that half-dreaming state of mind, it’s a very cathartic experience and allows me to explore a wide range of emotions. I have found that this produces my best writing and the outcomes are unpredictable. I can’t get there by planning analytically. Writing for me is an emotional experience.
Describe the book in 10 words or less for people who are just learning about it.
Kids think that their dads are supermen but they are not.
Is there anything you would like people to take away from your book?
When I wrote the first draft of this poem, I cried. The way that it ends, the reader (and even the author!) isn’t sure if this is a conversation between an adult child and their dad over dinner or on their dad’s deathbed. There’s an eeriness to it that kids probably won’t pick up on but an adult who has lost a parent would feel it. When the child asks the dad what he remembers, the dad is alone, fishing on a lake, and remembering his child as a toddler. The lake represents the father’s heaven.
Have you ever experienced writer’s block? How did you deal with it?
Absolutely! I don’t fight it. I go exercise, I play music, I watch YouTube videos, or I play chess. I know that the block is temporary and I just need to do a mental reset in order to find my rhythm again. I’ve found that the more I fight it, the more entrenched the block becomes and even if I do force my way through, the writing won’t be as good as it is when I’m relaxed. I want to keep writing fun, so when it stops feeling fun, I take a break.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
I’m still an entrepreneur. I started teaching at my local community college and it has been the most rewarding professional experience I’ve ever had. I also have young children, so I spend a lot of time visiting with my neighbors and their children. We live in an area with dozens of young families so there’s always someone out on a walk. I love it.
Review
What Do You Remember, Dad? This is a sweet book and yes does show how kids remember their parents as larger than life 🙂 I loved how the child remembered the dad being an expert on everything and being a huge role model. I also loved how the dad said well that wasn’t exactly how it happened but I did my best.
I enjoyed the colorful illustrations as the parent and child reminisced about the childhood memories and shared their impressions of that time. This is a sweet book to read with a father and child, especially for Father’s day.
About the Author
Ryan Buckley is a parallel entrepreneur living in Walnut Creek, California with his wife and two daughters. He was born and raised in Silicon Valley and holds two Bachelor’s degrees from UC Berkeley. He started his first internet business while enrolled in the joint Master’s degree program with the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Ryan has founded, co-founded, and run many businesses. They include Scripted.com, Toofr.com, Inlistio.com, eNPS.co, Voxloca.com, and his latest website, ParallelEntrepreneurship.com.
Ryan plans to start more businesses, write more books, and eventually run for public office.
