That's My Dad! Honoring the Fathers Who Shaped Our Lives

To succeed at the highest level of any profession requires not just skill, but also confidence and mental toughness. Many men and women have natural skills, but many would also be the first to say that without the affirming love and support from their fathers or a father figure, they would not have made it to the top of their fields.

In That’s My Dad! authors Joe Pellegrino and Joe Battaglia look at father models, both positive and negative, that helped to shape the lives of successful men and women in the competitive worlds of media, arts and entertainment, and professional sports. Included are:

• Joe Girardi, Manager, New York Yankees
• Allan Houston, former NBA all-star and Assistant GM, New York Knicks
• Gretchen Carlson, Author and Fox News commentator and host of "The Real Story" with Gretchen Carlson
• Jeff Kemp, former NFL quarterback
• Lee Rouson, former NFL Running Back
• Michael Franzese, former New York mobster with the Colombo crime family, inspirational speaker and author
• Tina Cervasio, New York television sports anchor with Fox 5 and ESPN radio sportscaster and commentator
• Darryl Strawberry, former Major League Baseball All-Star, ordained minister and author
• Frances Hesselbein, President and CEO of The Frances Hesselbein Leadership Institute and former CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA
• David Tyree, former NFL wide receiver with the New York Giants • Roderick Caesar, senior pastor of Bethel Gospel Tabernacle, Queens, NY
• Chris Broussard, ESPN and ESPN.com basketball analyst, writer and commentator
• Kelly Wright, FOXNews reporter and co-anchor of America’s News Headquarters
• Rita Cosby, television news anchor and correspondent, WABC radio host, and best-selling author

Whether these role models were hurt or helped by the choices of their fathers, they have chosen to learn from their past and portray exemplary qualities like courage, honor, joy, authenticity, and integrity to make them the role models they are today. This book demonstrates the power of true fatherhood and the difference it makes in the lives of children. All of us want to, or yearn that we could, stand up and shout, "That’s my dad!"