Lost and Found: Young Fathers in the Age of Unwed Parenthood

Paul Florsheim discusses Lost and Found: Young fathers in the age of unwed parenthood. He will be joined in conversation by Deborah Gorman-Smith. A Q&A and signing will follow the discussion.

Presented in partnership with the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration

At 57th Street Books

RSVP HERE (Please note that your RSVP is requested but not required.)

About the book: Lost and Found shares the stories of several young men becoming parents in an era where family is being re-defined and our understanding of what it means to be a father is in flux. Florsheim and Moore highlight the lives of fathers who face different challenges across the transition to parenthood. As the title suggests, some of these young men “find themselves” in fatherhood but others become lost. Lost and Found offers a model of the "good-enough father" to counter the all-or-nothing stereotypes of the deadbeat or absentee dad versus the ideal father figure popularized in old sitcoms. It also draws heavily on the perspectives of young mothers whose experiences add balance and depth to our understanding of fathers and fatherhood. In the last section, Florsheim and Moore describe an innovative strategy for helping young fathers and mothers create stable home environments for their children, whether the parents are together or not. 

About the author: Paul Florsheim is a Professor in the Joseph J. Zilber School of Public Health at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Florsheim lived and attended graduate school in Chicago, where he launched his research on young fathers and their families. He continues to work with young fathers and mothers in Milwaukee, both as a researcher and a clinical psychologist. One of Florsheim’s previous books, The Young Parenthood Program: A Guide to Helping Young Mothers and Fathers Become Effective Co-parents (Oxford University Press, 2014) is a useful resource for mental health professionals working with young parents.  

About the interlocutor: Deborah Gorman-Smith is the Dean and Emily Klein Gidwitz Professor of the School of Social Service Administration. She is also the Principal Investigator and Director of the Chicago Center for Youth Violence Prevention. Her program of research, grounded in a public health perspective, is focused on advancing knowledge about development, risk, and prevention of aggression and violence, with specific focus on minority youth living in high burden urban communities. She has published extensively in areas related to youth violence, including the relationship between community characteristics, family functioning and aggression and violence, including partner violence and the impact of family-focused preventive interventions.