Fathers | Alain de Botton, Andre Agassi, and More
This issue contains pieces of content I came across in the last week that deal (in various ways) with fathers.
Alain de Botton
Alain de Botton, the founder of the School of Life, is heavily influenced by psychodynamics. This is a recent interview in which he talks about:
"What is love? How do we navigate heartbreak? Why is our childhood so informant on the rest of our lives? How do we sit with ourselves? And while we’re at it - what actually is the meaning of life? Alain talks me through why we experience the ‘ick’, the emotional burdens parents project onto their children, and how breakdowns can be breakthroughs. He also helps me understand better my own relationship, examining how attachment styles and past experiences can shape the way we love."
... and the relation with his own father. Well worth your time!
Andre Agassi's Father
I'm subscribed to various newsletters. One of them being Billy Oppenheimer's. In his latest edition, he writes about Andre Agassi and his father, which is a moving story that made me think.
You can read it here under the subtitle "Few Of Us Are Granted The Grace To Know Ourselves, And Until We Do, The Best We Can Do Is Be Consistent": https://billyoppenheimer.com/september-29-2024/
"My dad had been in the ground for just thirty-six hours or so. But life goes on."
Another newsletter I'm subscribed to is Craig Mod's. He writes a lot about walking in Japan, writing, and publishing. In his latest issue, he wrote the story about how he met Kevin Kelly and burying his father. It's very thought-provoking. You can read it here: https://craigmod.com/ridgeline/194/