From Son to Father and to Son. A Reflective Itinerary in order to Grow as Fathers

The author remembers some important moments of the relationship that he had as a child with his father in the period between the death of his mother and that of his father himself,
which took place not long after. The fact that his father shared with him his vulnerability and his suffering in the face of death became a crucial experience in the formation of a different idea of masculinity. The author highlights that accompanying their sons in their inner facing of the most radical events of life –including illness, death and mourning– represents for men one of the most important and difficult terrains of maturity through which in fact they are able to sustain a more typically male dimension of exploration and experience of the outer world. Reviewing his own experience as a son in relation to his father represents for the author a crucial step in order to be able to reflect more consciously upon his own personal experience as the father of a young boy. The author is convinced that,