A Better Man : A (Mostly Serious) Letter to My Son

Written in response to rising gun violence and building off of his New York Times op-ed “The Boys Are Not All Right,” Michael Ian Black's A Better Man is a poignant look at manhood. Written in the form of a heartfelt letter to his teenage son before he leaves for college, Black offers a radical plea for rethinking masculinity and teaching young men to give and receive love.

A provocative, personal, and useful look at boyhood, and a radical plea for rethinking masculinity and teaching young men to give and receive love “Surprising . . . [Black’s] tone is so lovely, his empathy so clear . . . Black’s writing is modest, clear, conversational . . . corny, maybe. But helpful. Like a dad.”—The New York Times Book Review With hope and with humor, Michael Ian Black skillfully navigates the complex gender issues of our time and delivers a poignant answer to an urgent question: How can we be, and raise, better men? Part memoir, part advice book, and written as a heartfelt letter to his college bound son, A Better Man offers up a way forward for boys, men, and anyone who loves them. Comedian, writer, and father Black examines his complicated relationship with his own father, explores the damage and rising violence caused by the expectations placed on boys to “man up,” and searches for the best way to help young men be part of the solution, not the problem. “If we cannot allow ourselves vulnerability,” he writes, “how are we supposed to experience wonder, fear, tenderness?”