Dad Was a Carpenter: A Father, a Son, and the Blueprints for a Meaningful Life - Hardcover

No, Dad wasn't really a carpenter. Kenny Kemp's father was a pharmacist who liked to make things in his garage, a man who always saw something new and useful in things old and worn. "To him, a piece of plywood wasn't just lumber: it was a travel box, a bunk bed, a train set platform, or a dresser," explains Kemp. Soon after his father died, Kemp traveled to San Diego to face the grim task of sorting through his dad's belongings. In the garage, the flashbacks begin: the time when Dad helped him build a go-cart out of a broom and a washing-machine part, or the time Dad made an aluminum-frame backpack for the author's first scouting trip. The memories build upon each other, crafting a father-son relationship that has its share of hard knocks, but that's ultimately sealed with the lasting glue of loyalty. We see how fathering a child is a spiritual act, one that requires attention, ingenuity, and ongoing patience. And we see how a handyman father helps a young boy become a good man--a man who ultimately witnesses the painful death of his father from Lou Gehrig's disease. In the end, Kenny Kemp's Dad Was a Carpenter is like his father's handiwork: simple, lasting, and filled with an affirmation of fatherly love. --Gail Hudson

Kenny Kemp's second book is a departure from his first, the humorous afterlife romantic novel I Hated Heaven.

In his new book Dad was a Carpenter, Kemp turns his unsentimental eye on his own life as it intersected with his father's, but Kemkp's familiar themes of trial, life, and spirituality continue in this beautifully written biography of his father, O.C. Kemp, a "simple, humble man with poor eyesight, gapped teeth, and no hearing in one ear," who, throughout a lifetime of quiet courage, earned the respect of his friends, the devoted love of his wife, and the lasting honor of his children. Dad was a Carpenter is Christmas Box meets Tuesdays with Morrie and more. Heartfelt, direct, and moving, this book is the perfect way to tell your own father how you feel about him. When you finish it, you will find yourself picking up the phone to call your dad, just to say, "Thanks."