When Daddy Fails: ‘The Unavailable Father’

By Mad Dog
Published: Jun 07, 2010

Sarah Simms Rosenthal’s father could be witty and warm. But she always had to tiptoe around him; when he was in a bad mood, his rage filled the room, and, more often than not, it was directed against her. Their “broken” father-daughter relationship cost her plenty — a predictably heavy loss of security and love. So it was probably inevitable that she grew up to earn a PhD. in social work and gravitate to patients who shared her issue. Now she’s written "The Unavailable Father" (published as a paperback and in a Kindle edition). It’s a straightforward self-help book — Rosenthal identifies six flavors of absentee fathers (disapproving, mentally ill, substance-abusing, unreliable, abusive and absent), presents case histories and suggests paths to recovery — that should kickstart healing for confused and damaged women. For an overview, visit her web site.