Healing the Father Wound

Gordon Dalbey turned me on to the idea of the "father wound" in his book, Healing the Masculine Soul written in 1988. Written thirteen years later, Dalbey's influence was apparent in John Eldridge's instant classic, Wild at Heart. Where Were You When I Needed You Dad? a guide for healing for your father wound by Jane Myers Drew, Ph.D. addresses the father wound from a female perspective. An excellent book written from an African American female's perspective is, Whatever happened to Daddy's Little Girl? by Jonetta Rose Barras. Before Dalbey, Alexander Mitsherlich wrote Society Without the Father, which became a foundational work for Robert Bly(Iron John) and the men's movement, which really took shape in the late '80s.

The "father wound" existed long before it was named. Adam's fall sent a deadly bacteria to our hearts that can only be healed by a heart transplant. To be healed, we must put ourselves on the donor list. Where do we find a donor for a new heart? Ironically, to find the donor, we must search for our Father.