Fathers - xoJane

It Happened To Me Contest Entry: My Dad Is A Pedophile And It's Ruining My Wedding

IHTM CONTESTANT — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 10:00:00 -0400

What had been a complicated father-daughter relationship became an impossible one.

My Biological Father Stalks And Harasses Me Online

Jessica O — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 11:00:00 -0400

I am 31 years old and I have never met my father, but that does not stop him from regularly contacting me online, calling me names and telling me how to live my life.

It Happened To Me Contest Entry: I Lost My Father On 9/11/01

IHTM CONTESTANT — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 12:30:00 -0500

On September 11, 2001, my father disappeared forever into the dust and flames and papers that rained down on lower Manhattan.

It Happened To Me: I Watched Porn With My Dad When I Was A Kid

Desi — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 10:00:00 -0500

It almost seemed like my dad was doing the porn equivalent of making a kid smoke a ton of cigarettes as a punishment for catching them smoke, desensitizing me to the thrill of watching porn.

I Can't Drive Because My Father Was Killed By A Car

Sarah Gooding — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 14:30:00 -0500

My dad was biking along a busy stretch of road about 10 minutes from our house when he was hit by a guy in a van who had momentarily fallen asleep at the wheel. He died that day.

It Happened To Me Contest Entry: I Grew Up In A Hospital

IHTM CONTESTANT — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 10:30:00 -0500

I couldn’t tell you how old I was when I learned to read or when we stopped practicing cursive in school, but I can describe the view from the upper floor of the Columbia-Presbyterian hospital parking garage in almost perfect detail.

I Forgave My Father On My Wedding Day

Trish Broome — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 18:00:00 -0500

There would be some years when he would send a birthday or Christmas card, some years when he wouldn’t. Months, and then years, would go by without a phone call.

It Happened to Me: My Dad Is a Roman Catholic Priest (It's Kind of Weird)

Rebecca — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 16:00:00 -0500

Being the priest’s kid defined me and my siblings even more so than being the children of a disabled person.

Dads, You Don't Own Your Daughters

s.e. smith — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 17:00:00 -0500

In New York City recently, a father showed up at his daughter’s school swinging, I kid you not, a chain and padlock, demanding to know who was having sexual intercourse with his daughter/

New Dating Service Lets You Skip the Romance and Head Right to the Co-Parenting

Somer Sherwood — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 16:00:00 -0500

When my ex and I split, I wasn’t quite sure how co-parenting our son was going to work out.

It Happened To Me: I Became a Perfectionist Because My Father Died

Veronica Goin — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 17:00:00 -0400

Four months after my father’s death, I decided to go back to college and get a bachelor’s degree. I had wanted to eventually do it for myself, sometime in a non-specific future, but it was my father’s death and the crushing depression and anger that I experienced afterwards which catalyzed my decision to do it as soon as I possibly could.

10 Years Later: What My Father's Suicide Has Taught Me

Savannah Dempsey — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 12:30:00 -0400

Most of the time, I feel like I'm getting ready for another gunshot in the night, another life-changing morning when I'll have to figure out how to pick up the pieces and stand tall in the sunlight of my own, personal, post-apocalyptic world.

Cat's Gone

Jane — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 10:20:45 -0400

And I'd rather be on a rooftop smoking angel dust than writing this post.

How Do You Celebrate Father's Day if You Don't Have a Dad?

Somer Sherwood — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 12:00:21 -0400

I’ve never had a dad. And that is just fine with me, because the dad I could have had is one I would never, ever want.

It Happened to Me: I Lost My Father One Year Ago Yesterday

Morgan — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:00:31 -0400

Then lunch time will come, but you won't feel like eating. You will instead feel like turning off all the lights and burying your face in a pillow for an hour, not for a real nap, but just to turn everything off.

The Perfect Musical for Girls Without Daddies: Mamma Mia!

Daisy — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 13:00:13 -0500

One girl's (fictional) search for her father made me ruminate on my own. Or lack thereof. Because I'm so lazy!

It Happened To Me: My Long Lost Father Is a Pick Up Artist

Kate Collins — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:18:53 -0500

Ever wanted to hear your dad recounting how he bedded a 23-year-old ex-student?

It Happened To Me: My Dad Died and I Was 3,000 Miles Away

Morgan — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 11:00:32 -0500

I had always imagined that if one of my parents' health was failing, it would be such a long, drawn-out process that I would have time to get home to them, to say goodbye. But my dad had died and I hadn't even seen him in four months.

I Have Daddy Issues

Emily — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 10:00:09 -0500

I know, duh, right? But here's the actual story.

It Happened to Me: My Father Disinherited Me

Elizabeth — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 14:00:08 -0500

How did it all go so wrong with my father and me? It seems almost like a dream; the images blur and fade when I look too closely. It’s hard to piece together exactly what happened, and when, and why.