
by Tim O'Brien
The bestselling author of The Things They Carried and If I Die in a Combat Zone shares wisdom from a life in letters, lessons learned in wartime, and the challenges, humour and rewards of raising two sons.
When Tim O'Brien became an older father, he resolved to give his young sons what he wished his own father had given to him - a few scraps of paper signed 'Love, Dad'. Maybe a word of advice. Maybe a sentence or two about some long-ago Christmas Eve. Maybe some scattered glimpses of their rapidly ageing father, a man they might never really know. For the next fifteen years, the author talked to his sons on paper, as if they were adults, imagining what they might want to hear from a father who was no longer among the living.William Timothy O'Brien (born October 1, 1946) is an American novelist. He is best known for his book *The Things They Carried* (1990), a collection of linked semi-autobiographical stories inspired by O'Brien's experiences in the Vietnam War. In 2010, the New York Times described O'Brien's book as a Vietnam classic. In addition, he is known for his war novel, *Going After Cacciato* (1978), also about wartime Vietnam, and later novels about postwar lives of veterans. O'Brien has held the endowed chair at the MFA program of Texas State University–San Marcos every other academic year since 2003–2004 (2003–2004, 2005–2006, 2007–2008, 2009–2010, and 2011–2012). **Source**: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_O%27Brien_(author)" target="blanck">Tim O'Brien</a> on Wikipedia

by Tim O'Brien
The bestselling author of The Things They Carried and If I Die in a Combat Zone shares wisdom from a life in letters, lessons learned in wartime, and the challenges, humour and rewards of raising two sons.
When Tim O'Brien became an older father, he resolved to give his young sons what he wished his own father had given to him - a few scraps of paper signed 'Love, Dad'. Maybe a word of advice. Maybe a sentence or two about some long-ago Christmas Eve. Maybe some scattered glimpses of their rapidly ageing father, a man they might never really know. For the next fifteen years, the author talked to his sons on paper, as if they were adults, imagining what they might want to hear from a father who was no longer among the living.William Timothy O'Brien (born October 1, 1946) is an American novelist. He is best known for his book *The Things They Carried* (1990), a collection of linked semi-autobiographical stories inspired by O'Brien's experiences in the Vietnam War. In 2010, the New York Times described O'Brien's book as a Vietnam classic. In addition, he is known for his war novel, *Going After Cacciato* (1978), also about wartime Vietnam, and later novels about postwar lives of veterans. O'Brien has held the endowed chair at the MFA program of Texas State University–San Marcos every other academic year since 2003–2004 (2003–2004, 2005–2006, 2007–2008, 2009–2010, and 2011–2012). **Source**: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_O%27Brien_(author)" target="blanck">Tim O'Brien</a> on Wikipedia