The Good Men Project is pleased to present this list of books written by contributors and members of our highly engaged community.
- Each book title and cover photo is linked to a landing page where you can purchase the book.
- The book description is provided.
- New listings appear first on the list. All other books are alphabetical by TITLE.
- Originally published on June 1, 2019, this list was updated on July 29, 2021.
- Some are sponsored placements.*
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NEW Book Listings:
Slip Soul by García, Taylor
Fiction. ISBN: 978-1-952816-68-0 (Paperback & Kindle) Publisher: Touchpoint Press (August 2, 2021)
Emigrating from Mexico to San Diego, California, sixty-something Osvaldo Reyes intends to find his first love, Joanne Watson, an American writer he met over thirty years ago when she toured his hometown of Oaxaca City. But when Osvaldo’s employer in the United States shuts down due to protests, the clock starts ticking on his visa. He finds work at a local fish taco shop to buy more time in the US, but doesn’t know his sweet co-worker, a Mexican-American girl, is an ICE agent in disguise.
Osvaldo ends up in an immigrant detention center where he meets Marcos Gomez, a young asylum seeker from Honduras separated from his family. Osvaldo shares his story with Marcos through a series of flashbacks interspersed by chapters from a tattered original manuscript Joanne gave Osvaldo the last time they met. Slip Soul—the story within the story—is a metaphysical journey of good versus evil, toxic masculinity versus femininity, and provides the historical backdrop for Osvaldo and Joanne’s lifelong love separated by time and
borders.
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You Are Not Broken: What Jesus Really Said and Why It Matters by Fofanoff, Stephen
Non-fiction. ISBN 978-1949813128 (paperback) Publisher: Art & Soul Enterprises Inc.; 2nd ed. edition (March 24, 2021)
You probably haven’t heard the true messages of Jesus. His words are so startling, so simple, and so different from anything you’ve heard in church. Once you hear them, you’ll wonder why more people aren’t shouting them from the rooftops. This book will challenge everything you ever thought you knew about Jesus and Christianity. It will positively change your life, providing a simple way for you to access the depth of God’s love for you. Once you realize how easy it is to bring love, happiness, and prosperity into your heart, your life will transform.
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Some of Our Favorites (alphabetical by title):
A Single Happened Thing by Paisner, Daniel
Fiction. ISBN 13: 9780984764839 (paperback), ISBN 13: 9780984764853 (ebook), Publisher: Relegation Books (March 2016)
It’s the late Nineties on the Upper West Side and book publicist David Felb (née Felber, née Felberstein) can sense his world shrinking. He is stuck in the slow lane at “a venerable second-tier publishing house” and feeling the encroaching changes technology will bring as he struggles to maintain a bond with his wife and three young daughters. Into the void steps Fred “Sure Shot” Dunlap, a tweed-clad, waxed-mustached nineteenth-century baseball legend with still impeccable timing who died penniless and obscure and seems to need something from Felb. Or is it the other way around? Felb dutifully goes to weekly psychiatrist appointments at his wife’s insistence, but when his hard-to-reach baseball-mad teenage daughter develops her own fascination, he can feel a chance to recapture something lost. Daniel Paisner’s enchanting new novel about neurosis, intimacy, and balancing familial needs while juggling two careers and the demands of modern life is also a charming and memorable parable about losing your mind and finding yourself in the age of anxiety.
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Before I Leave You: A Memoir on Suicide, Addiction, and Healing by Imbeault, Robert
Memoir. ISBN 978-1544506586 (paperback). Publisher: Houndstooth Press (March 20, 2020)
In Before I Leave You, Robert shares his real and raw account of how he clawed his way back from the brink, forgave himself, and wrote a new ending to his story.
After a series of small steps forward, and a few steps back, Robert found his way to sobriety. He regained his health and began to treat himself and everyone around him with love and kindness.
Today, Robert enjoys a life filled with gratitude and joy he thought he’d never live to see. In Before I Leave You, he shares his real and raw account of how he clawed his way back from the brink, forgave himself, and wrote a new ending to his story.
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Dads Know Best by Luzzi, John and Miggs, Don
Non-fiction. ISBN-13: 978-1684016921 (hardcover). Publisher: Mascot Books (February 2019)
Dads Know Best–the first book in The Know Best Books series–is a real-talk book about parenting from unlikely experts John Luzzi and Don Miggs. It pulls back the curtain on the first few years of parenthood, tells new dads all the things their friends and mentors didn’t have the heart to tell them, and reminds grandparents or second-time parents what they signed up for. There’s no sugar-coating. No pandering. No clichés. Just honest advice from two fathers who did everything wrong but ended up getting it right. From navigating epic diaper blowouts, to managing pregnancy cravings, to learning about the wonderful world of nipples, Don Miggs and John Luzzi have you covered. They’ll teach you how to be there for your baby mama and take care of your kid without losing your mind in the process. After all, they know best. Don and John are veteran songwriters, performers, and producers. Don is also a radio host of the weekly FM show Miggs & Swig. Fueled by the love of his wife and their two boys, Don believes he can do most anything he tries, and they’ll be there when he falls flat on his face. John lives in Seattle with his wife and young son, and has spent most of his years pursuing his passion for music as a guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Not being able to get through a single book on parenting but still wanting to be a better dad than everyone he knew, he was driven to seek out brutally honest advice on fatherhood.
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From Nothing: A Novel of Technology, Bar Music, and Redemption by Goldstein, Ken
Fiction. ISBN-13: 978-1611882698 (paperback). Publisher: The Story Plant; Reprint edition (October 7, 2019)
Moving to the classic rock beat of legends, here is a novel about Silicon Valley backroom deals and redemption that tells the story of our lives through the soundtrack of our lives. Populated with a wide array of colorful characters, brimming with reflections on everything from love to God to the price of commitment, and backed by a soundtrack you won’t be able to get out of your head, From Nothing is an engaging work of fiction that will resonate like your favorite song. It’s the story of Victor Selo. A wannabe rock star turned tech savant, Victor wagered his Silicon Valley executive position on a corporate inside straight and lost. Having security escort him out of the building was the best thing that happened to him that day. The rest left him in the hospital, broken, broke, and with no prospect. A shadowy stranger with questionable motives offered Victor a chance to get his life back – and better – if he simply cooperates. It would require becoming invisible, hiding in the spotlight, playing guitar in a Vegas cover band. Reluctantly, Victor accepts and begins an odyssey he never could have imagined, involving a charismatic lead singer who owns the stage but aspires to own an Elvis wedding chapel, a mesmerizing woman who can play anything on her keyboards and can play with Victor’s head, and two specters from his old life offering competing devil’s bargains. Suddenly, multiple futures open for Victor, each comes with potentially catastrophic risk.
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Keepin’ It Real: Essays on Race in Contemporary America by Watson, Elwood David
Non-fiction. ISBN 9781789380507 (paperback). Publisher: University of Chicago Press (October 2019)
The past decade has been one of the most racially turbulent periods in the modern era, as the complicated breakthrough of the Obama presidency gave way to the racially charged campaigning and eventual governing of Donald Trump. Keepin’ It Real presents a wide-ranging group of essays that take on key aspects of the current landscape surrounding racial issues in America, including the place of the Obamas, the rise of the alt-right and White nationalism, Donald Trump, Colin Kaepernick and the backlash against his protests, Black Lives Matter, sexual politics in the black community, and much more. America’s racial problems aren’t going away any time soon. Keepin’ It Real will serve as a marker of the arguments we’re having right now, and an argument for the changes we need to make to become the better nation we’ve long imagined ourselves to be.
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Living and Loving Mutually: How To Break Free From Hurtful Relationship Patterns by Weiss, Avrum Geurin
Non-fiction. ISBN-13:978-1643810317 (paperback). Publisher: Lasting Impact Press (November 24, 2020)
Living and Loving Mutually helps couples break out of hurtful patterns in their relationships. Through relatable examples, readers find new ways of understanding relationships that help couples move away from blaming each other for the pain they are each experiencing. Living and Loving Mutually shows that the problematic knots in relationships are mutually created and can only be resolved by two people working together to break the hurtful patterns. It takes two people to make a mess in any relationship, and it requires at least two people to undo it.
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Living With Love: The Way of the Warrior: The Discovery of the Hero Within on Life’s Journey by Ochiai, Jon H.
Non-fiction. ISBN 13: 978-1980226949 (Paperback). Independently published (February 8, 2018)
Jon Ochiai writes with enormous heart. His love for movies is demonstrated and profound, but this very personal book he has shared with us is about much more than movies. Jon opens his life in each of his movie reviews and then ties the theme of each movie back to the emotional investments he refines in his own life. There is a level of candor in this book that is rare. The authenticity of each observation begins from the point of view of entertainment, then pivots to personal impact, and finally leaps to passion. Soon the movie themes become background settings to life lessons and reflections. It is a truly brave and unique approach to sharing a world view where east meets west and intellect is tempered by honest emotion.
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Man Box: Poems by Conaway, Cameron
Poetry. ASIN: B07CK4MK22 (ebook). Published by Lasting Impact Press, an imprint of Connection Victory Publishing Company (April 2018)
Man Box illuminates the seemingly insignificant patriarchal forces that manifest into a toxic masculinity capable of damaging lives and our planet. “Man Box can open up important conversations in gender studies classes everywhere.” —Dr. Joe Boehman. “Cameron Conaway has created a collection of poems from deep in the heart and soul of an ever-changing and healing masculinity. He masterfully uses personal experience and perspective to make visible what so many of us feel but never question, much less articulate. Each poem is an invitation to the reader to feel, to reflect, and to change.” —Dr. Tom Schiff. “In this exquisite collection, Conaway breaks the manacles of manhood by bravely disrupting its ‘lexicon of destruction.’ In dialogue with texts that range from ancient to popular culture, his poems explore the myriad ways that boys are ‘the first victims / and the second perpetrators …broken to see / the world as theirs but not / until they murder it.’ The strength of these poems comes from the tenderness and vulnerability they unapologetically express—and the dazzling prosody by which they express it. If ever a book of poetry had the promise to make a vital impact on our contemporary culture, it is Man Box.” —Christina Cook.
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My Distant Dad: Healing the Family Father Wound by Diamond, Jed
Memoir: Diamond, Jed. ISBN-13: 978-164-3810-065 (paperback), ASIN: B07Q3J5RXW (audiobook). Publisher: Lasting Impact Press, an imprint of Connection Victory Publishing Company (August 2018).
Heal your family father wound and understand why you struggle in your love life, worry about money and success, allow male anger to negatively influence your life. There is one problem that surpasses all others in its impact on men, women, and society: the family father wound. Without the support of their fathers, men become disconnected from their true selves, feeling that others are controlling their lives. The family father wound may be the most pervasive, most important, and least recognized problem facing men and their families today. However, the family father wound, resulting from physical or emotional absence, has been largely ignored. Disconnected males, without a strong sense of inner guidance, can become abusive towards women and destructive towards men. We’ve seen this with the outpouring of sexual abuse allegations involving many prominent men. More than 20 million children live in a home without the physical presence of a father. Millions more have dads who are physically present, but emotionally absent. If it were classified as a disease, fatherlessness would be an epidemic worthy of attention as a national emergency. The male anger and rage we see in everything from domestic violence to school shootings have their roots in trauma resulting from growing up in families with disconnected and dysfunctional fathers. Yet, this childhood wounding can be healed. My Distant Dad is the first book to address the father wound and its impact on men and women through the personal experiences of a world-renowned expert on men’s health. Limited quantities of the first-edition hardcover are available.
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Never Stop Dancing: A Memoir by Jacoby, Robert and Robinette, John
Memoir. ISBN 978-0578524450 (paperback) Publisher: Inner Harbor House, LLC (October 2019)
A story of grief, male friendship, and healing conversations. “Be present,” “cherish each day,” “always say I love you.” John Robinette lived those words. Or so he thought. Then his wife, Amy, was killed instantly in a pedestrian accident.
John’s world shattered, and he began the grueling task of parenting two young boys in a house filled with vibrant, bittersweet memories. As the grief closed in around him, John’s close friend, author Robert Jacoby, saw John struggling and proposed an unusual idea: to interview him over the course of the first year after Amy’s death. Robert’s hope was to meet John directly in his experience of sorrow, explore his grief with him, and discover what lessons might be learned.
Born of a year’s worth of candid interviews, Never Stop Dancing avoids clichéd takeaways about grief and healing to chart a deeper, thornier examination of loss and regret. Robert and John are transformed through their shared experience, too, emerging strengthened and with an abiding male friendship that cuts against the grain of pop-culture trends of quick fixes and easy answers. This memoir-in-conversation provides hard-won reassurances that one can and does go on after loss.
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Our Happy Divorce by DeBartolo, Nikki and Heldfond, Ben
Non-fiction. ISBN-13: 978-1631779978, Mascot Books (October 1, 2019)
From weeknight dinners and homework sessions to Christmas card photos and vacations, Nikki and Ben have created a tight-knit, enviable family. Nikki and Ben had hoped their wedding would start their happily ever after—but seven years, one child, and countless financial and familial entanglements later, their I do-s had turned into We can’t-s. Armed with their fierce love for their son and a desire to give him the best, they realized they needed to find an alternative to the seemingly inevitable toxic divorce that loomed over their lives. Refusing to participate in the standard litigious legal divorce process, they devised a new strategy and worked to confront their hurt feelings and fragile egos head-on. Committed to putting their child’s needs first in every decision, they helped each other heal and build a future. Though their marriage has been over for nearly a decade, they still share a happy life with each other and their son Asher, along with their spouses and children. Their happily blended family today is a testament to their commitment to a few core principles and their incredible son—during the divorce and beyond.
Throughout the book, Nikki and Ben elaborate on the difficulties of their divorce experience, their individual pains and triumphs, as well as their unique approach to relationships and blended families. Their story is sure to inspire others to pursue something few believe possible…a happy divorce.
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Positive Parenting: A Practical and Sometimes Humorous Approach To Applying The Research In Your Home With Gender Inclusivity, Mutual Respect, and Empathy – and NO Spanking! by Rich, John D
Non-fiction. ISBN-13: 978-1643810119 (paperback). Publisher: Lasting Impact Press, an imprint of Connection Victory Publishing Company (February 2019)
We all want to be good people and good parents to our children. This is why I created my website, DrJohnRich.com, and why I wrote this book bundle (Positive Parenting, Practical Parenting, and How Did You Get Him To Eat That). Dr. John D Rich, Jr. I am an educational psychologist and an associate professor of Psychology at Delaware State University, with expertise in effective parenting and teaching. I also have a lot of life experience to go along with my academic knowledge. My goal is to help you incorporate effective parenting and teaching practices with your children. I was moved to write because I want to share what I know about my own life as an educator and a parent of two great boys, as well to share all of the high-quality research out there about effective parenting and education, using language and stories that would be accessible to a wide audience. Most parents desire to raise well-behaved, successful children, and most educators desire to positively impact the students in their care. I am convinced that the effort you invest to understand and apply what we academics know about effective parenting can create exciting benefits for you and your children. It is my hope that this book bundle will be a resource for parents and educators to learn and discuss best practices that will help us all positively influence the next generation. Workbook also available.
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Prostate Cancer: Sheep or Wolf?: Navigating Systemic Misinformation
Non-fiction. ISBN 978-1732938106 (paperback) Publisher: Murray Keith Wadsworth (February 6, 2019)
Prostate Cancer: Sheep or Wolf? is the riveting story of one man’s parallel journeys: Balancing a diagnosis of and treatment for prostate cancer while embarking on multiple RV road trips between treatment regimens throughout the US and Europe. This book offers a revealing and insightful look into how America’s healthcare system leads men into blind alleys, fear traps, and under- and overtreatment. READ THIS BOOK and learn in about two hours what it took Murray Wadsworth three years and countless medical consultations on two continents to learn: How to use groundbreaking technologies to thoroughly diagnosis the threat and make treatment decisions that are right for you.
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Relationships: Are you sure you want one? by Milasas, Simone and Watt, Brendon
Non-fiction. ISBN: 978-1634932226 (Paperback). Publisher: Access Consciousness Publishing Company (1 Feb. 2019)
This is NOT your average relationship book! It is not about love and romance but instead offers powerful questions and tools you can ask every single day to create what you truly desire in a relationship. Creating a great relationship requires a level of intimacy that very few people are willing to have even with themselves, let alone someone else. How many great relationships do you see out there? Not just a long-lasting relationship, but a caring relationship where you empower each other to be as great as you can be. Written from both the male and female points of view so you can get both perspectives, the two authors Simone Milasas and Brendon Watt invite YOU to be the source of your own happiness, not a relationship. They ask powerful questions you can ask daily to create anything you desire!
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Seven Ways to Lighten Your Life Before You Kick the Bucket by Hopkins, Walt and Simons, George
Non-fiction. ISBN-13: 978-0993000287 (paperback). Publisher: Libri Publishing (April 2016)
A bucket list is a list of things to do before you die. This book is a guide to ways to live before you die. Whether you have a bucket list or not, the stories and insights in this book offer you seven clear ways to lighten—and enlighten—your life before you kick the bucket. George Simons and Walt Hopkins (international consultants) have learned a lot about living well while getting older—and they generously and intimately share those learnings with men and women concerned about aging. The text does draw from the perspective of the men’s movement in which both George and Walt have been long engaged and addresses challenges of aging, motivation, and the quality of everyday life. Both are concerned with mythopoetic elements, frequently citing narrative and poetic elements that go to the heart of the male experience, in particular, the challenges of aging. Seven Ways addresses the challenges both men and women face in making our behavior coherent with our integrity and our purpose. It cites multiple personal experiences and stories to propose concrete action steps that the reader can develop and choose in order to implement his or her dream and, in the process, enhance the quality of life. With Mark Twain-like humor and age-old wisdom, it’s a guide to kicking out what brings you down and picking up the things that make you happy.
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The Resilient WriterWheels: Can’t is a bad word by Kelly, Erin M.
Non-fiction. ISBN 978-16438-1-026-3 (paperback) Publisher: Lasting Impact Press, an imprint of Connection Victory Publishing Company (May 18, 2020)
As a writer with cerebral palsy, Erin M. Kelly promised herself long ago to utilize her writing skills and platform to make a positive impact on the world. Her autobiography, The Resilient WriterWheels: Can’t Is a Bad Word, traces her personal and professional journey as a writer. Raised in a household where she was taught that nothing was impossible, this, her second book, is a direct reflection of that mentality.
Kelly uses her voice on behalf of those who don’t yet know how to use their own. The book is an extension of the author and her journey as a writer, and aims to be accessible and enjoyable for all readers regardless of age or ability. It provides the reader with a fresh perspective on disability, inspiration, and motivation while attempting to answer questions that are not generally asked directly.
To move the conversation about disability forward from a place of inclusiveness and acceptance while helping the reader focus on their own abilities has been her mission throughout her career as a writer, author, poet, and columnist. As someone with a disability who overcomes adversity daily, it is the author’s hope that the reader will be inspired to look at life differently and find the strength to deal with their own difficult situations.
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tumbling: poetic thoughts from my anxious mind by Joyce, Elizabeth
Poetry. ISBN Paperback: 978-1-64381-023-2; e-book: 978-1-64381-024-9
Elizabeth Joyce struggled with tumbling thoughts for decades, but only after a year of psychotherapy did she realize her inability to rein in her mind was a result of multiple anxiety disorders and bouts of Major Depressive Disorder. In tumbling: poetic thoughts from an anxious mind, Elizabeth invites us to explore the intimate thoughts tumbling around in her anxious mind through a collection of poetry and prose written throughout her life. She packs a powerful arc into the short, chapbook-size collection, touching on her darkest moments and culminating in her ultimate hope. Anyone struggling with their mental health will appreciate this impactful read as an affirmation they are not alone, and those with loved ones who struggle with mental illnesses will get a glimpse into their world. In sharing her story as a child, friend, spouse, and parent who struggles with anxiety, Elizabeth’s true hope is to chip away at the long-standing stigmas surrounding mental health by raising awareness and understanding.
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Views from the Cockpit: The Journey of a Son by Victory, Ross
Memoir: Victory, Ross. ISBN: 978-0578460963 (paperback)
A memoir born from pain. Page by page, year by year, tender father-son memories of airplane watching transform into nightmarish, turbulent family drama. Upon the discovery that his father had been the victim of severe elder abuse as his health was rapidly deteriorating, the author finds himself reevaluating the decisions his father made throughout his life. With an unshakable ending, the author’s probing dissection of a man he thought he knew reckons with disloyalty, depression, religion and death, leaving no stone unturned. Through sharp, sometimes hilariously brash analysis, decorated in plane metaphors and imagery, the author expresses his commitment to truth with sincerity and transparency. He reaches for forgiveness, understanding and compromise in the face of absurdity and uncompromising rigidity. Ultimately, he contemplates a different “flight path” drawn from past lessons. He encourages readers to do the same. A must-read for sons, fathers, and families. Book-club discussion guide included.
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The Good Men Project: Real Stories from the Front Lines of Modern Manhood
Non-fiction. Anthology. ISBN:
Read the original anthology that was the catalyst for The Good Men Project. The Good Men Project: Real Stories from the Front Lines of Modern Manhood is more than a book; it is the centerpiece of a national discussion about what manhood means today. Thirty-one essays by a broad range of men–rich, poor, black, white, gay, straight, urban, rural, famous, ordinary–describe the challenges, obstacles, triumphs, failures, and life-changing moments that collectively help define what it means to be a man in America. Available in print and ebook. Buy here.
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*Some of the above content is sponsored by the author or publisher.
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