You Are Not Your Own Substack

You Are Not Your Own Substack

Dad is Sad, Very, Very Sad

On the depiction of fatherly despair in family media

O. Alan Noble's avatar
O. Alan Noble
Dec 26, 2025
∙ Paid

girl sitting while reading book
Photo by Josh Applegate on Unsplash

When I was a young father, I would sit down with my children and read Dr. Seuss’s Hop on Pop to them and try not to ruminate about all the stories of terror that OCD was intruding upon me. If you’ve ever read a children’s book for the 100th time, you know how terribly difficult it is not to daydream and go on autopilot…

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