The Lonely Dad Conversations

Comedian and actor Chris Gethard sits down with some of his closest comrades for no-holds-barred conversations about transitioning to dad life.

It’s no secret that parenting isn’t easy. The way life changes when two people decide to raise a child together can be unexpectedly… different. A rollercoaster of emotions — ranging from excitement to surprise to inspiration to sadness and even loneliness — ensues as the everyday shifts from what once was to what now is. When it comes to being a new dad — as Chris Gethard explores in his latest Scribd Original, The Lonely Dad Conversations — there is definitely a lot to be said about seeking comfort with those who share in these newfound and sometimes overwhelming feelings of change.

Featuring interviews with twelve of Gethard’s closest dad friends (and one mom because — as Gethard notes — she is “one of the smartest people” he knows and “might have some insight into presenting masculinity that no one else could offer”), The Lonely Dad Conversations looks at how social interactions, relationships, and friendships can change upon becoming a dad. As the long nights of partying turn into long nights of diaper duty or constant worries about their child’s future (especially in a post-pandemic world), each dad — and one mom — offers insight into how they managed a complete lifestyle pivot. And while being a mom is “actually more difficult,” as one interviewee points out, dads “are allowed to complain too.”

Following up on his deeply personal book Dad on Pills: Fatherhood and Mental Illness, Gethard “airs out the conversations that dads often feel too nervous to have” in The Lonely Dad Conversations by tapping into the thoughts and emotions of those around him as they reflect on their own childhoods and learned family values.