Father Said

Amy Carmichael voices the inner thoughts we all have that bring discouragement, doubt and fear, and gives a godly response that dispels these false ideas. Read a short portion in a free moment or pore over its pages prayerfully for hours as it provides bite-sized, biblical answers to your unspoken questions.

Hal Sirowitz, the Poet Laureate of Queens, offers a funny and tender portrait of his father in this follow up to his acclaimed Mother Said and My Therapist Said. Sirowitz's mother may have dominated the household with her overly protective advice, but his father had a few bon mots to impart to his son as well. In Father Said, he teaches Hal important lessons such as "What to Do When You Burp" and "How to Avoid Being Idle." Mr. Sirowitz's cautionary tales are as idiosyncratic as his wife's: "When your mother tells me don't I think / it's time we got a better washing machine, / Father said, I tell her, Let it decide. / If it breaks down, we'll get a better one."

This book is intended to introduce you to twelve major principles that my father lived by, although I do not think that he numbered them or even gave a thought to categorizing them. However, he did live by them and expected his family to do likewise. He never preached them to us because he had the ability to insert their meaning into everyday situations. Putting the following chapters together required assembling numerous notes. I had slips of paper with scribbling on them recalling my father's words, complete pieces of paper-some even typed-with sayings on them, and the sense to take notes, whenever I was with family, to remember the times and circumstances when these principles were applied. During these gatherings of friends and family, one story relevant to my father's philosophies always led to another, most times with a small unexpected revelation for someone in the group. I considered each and every saying I collected as to what my father might have been feeling when he spoke those words to us, and I organized his comments into topical categories. A majority of these sayings could have gone into different categories than the one I chose; however, it was with a sense of Pop's disposition (and mine) as I remember it at the time that I arranged his statements. As you turn these pages, welcome to the world of being surrounded by the principles of one who loved life and whose philosophies about that life were both realistic as well as practical.

“Like the YouTube channel, this is a touching yet informative guide for those seeking fatherly advice, or even a few good dad jokes.” — Library Journal

In a remote corner of the world, forgotten for nearly three thousand years, lived an enclave of Kurdish Jews so isolated that they still spoke Aramaic, the language of Jesus. Mostly illiterate, they were self-made mystics and gifted storytellers and humble peddlers who dwelt in harmony with their Muslim and Christian neighbors in the mountains of northern Iraq. To these descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel, Yona Sabar was born. Yona's son Ariel grew up in Los Angeles, where Yona had become an esteemed professor, dedicating his career to preserving his people’s traditions. Ariel wanted nothing to do with his father’s strange immigrant heritage—until he had a son of his own. Ariel Sabar brings to life the ancient town of Zakho, discovering his family’s place in the sweeping saga of Middle-Eastern history. This powerful book is an improbable story of tolerance and hope set in what today is the very center of the world’s attention.

“This book is ridiculously hilarious, and makes my father look like a normal member of society.” —Chelsea Handler “Read this unless you’re allergic to laughing.” —Kristen Bell “If you’re wondering if there is a real man behind the quotes on Twitter, the answer is a definite and laugh-out-loud yes.” —Christian Lander, New York Times bestselling author of Stuff White People Like Tuesdays with Morrie meets F My Life in this hilarious book about a son’s relationship with his foul-mouthed father by the 29-year-old comedy writer who created the massively popular Twitter feed of the same name.