Writer Jeff Seitzer joins me today to chat about his memoir, The Fun Master: A Father’s Journey of Love, Loss, and Learning to Live One Day at a Time.
Praise for The Fun Master
“Jeff Seitzer combines compassion, humor, and hard truths in this artfully written and beautiful story of a father’s dedication to his son, Ethan. It is a compelling story of personal growth, triumph over adversity, and love simultaneously both heart wrenching and heartwarming.”—George Bodenheimer, former President and Executive Chairman, ESPN
“Jeff Seitzer shepherds readers through charming, poignant, and also heartbreaking tales of parenting, adoption, and the loss of a child. Through ‘The Fun Master,’ I learned valuable lessons of love and resilience from the point of view of both parent and child, and I am reminded of why I pursued a career in medicine in the first place. This is a must-read for parents and medical professionals alike.”—Ron Bahar, Adjunct Associate Professor of Pediatrics, USC Keck School of Medicine
“Jeff Seitzer writes beautifully about the love between parent and child. You will laugh, cry, and ultimately understand why children are our greatest teachers. Above all, this moving memoir honors his son’s incredible impact on everyone he met.”—Nadine Kenney Johnstone, author of Of This Much I Am Sure
Bio:
Jeff Seitzer was an expert on the care of the self, himself in particular, before he unexpectedly became a stay-at-home dad concerned with the needs of others. Accounts of his on-the-job training as a full-time parent have appeared in the Omaha World-Herald, Hippocampus, Brevity Nonfiction Blog, Adoptive Families Magazine and elsewhere. An award-winning teacher, he is also author of a number of books and articles on law and philosophy. Born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, he now lives with his family in Chicago, where he teaches at Roosevelt University.
What inspired you to write this book?
I was a self-involved academic when I was unexpectedly pressed into service as a stay-at-home dad, by our newborn son Ethan no less. It was quickly apparent, however, that Ethan, forty-two years my junior, was taking care of me. While I tended to his medical needs and set up playdates, he was teaching me about life. The Fun Master is not a hero dad memoir offering pithy takeaways about proper living. It is, rather, an ode to the wisdom of children, especially those like Ethan with special needs, who have no time for anger, self-pity, or exclusiveness. His example encouraged me to live entirely differently. By putting other people’s needs before my own, I found a happiness that had eluded me before. The story of my journey of self-transformation might give others hope that they, too, might find joy under difficult circumstances.
Excerpt from The Fun Master:
From Chapter 2. Battlefield Promotion
The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) was being remodeled, so it was unusually cramped and noisy. In addition to the usual bells and whistles of high-tech medical equipment, there were the banging and drilling sounds produced by workmen busy behind thick plastic screens. Earlier I had been fully aware of the buzz of activity all around me, much like an animal in the wild, watchful for predators; now my attention was so completely focused on that little face that I was startled when the technician thanked me for calming him down. “Huh?” I asked myself. I glanced at her before returning my gaze to Ethan. You mean I did that? Looking around at the purposeful movement throughout the room, I felt like I was watching it through a soundproof glass enclosure; none of the commotion penetrated the little cocoon I shared with Ethan. Tears welled up in my eyes. By taking my finger in his itty-bitty hand, I felt like he was asking me to take care of him.
What exciting story are you working on next?
I am turning back to my passion for philosophy, writing a nonfiction book for a general audience entitled Living Philosophically, Poetically, and Politically. The basic idea is that a spiritual life guided by philosophy and science can make you happy as well as a better person. I argue that sacred texts should be viewed as potential sources of wisdom, not as sets of divine commands that one must blindly follow. Religious beliefs, in other words, should be treated as ideas for effective living that can be examined as scientific hypotheses. I suggest using all the modern tools of the natural and social sciences as well as philosophy to consider the consequences of such ideas for an individual’s life and for the welfare of society.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I am not sure that I am a writer yet. A philosopher by training and inclination, I learned the craft of creative nonfiction in order to tell Ethan’s story. Now that the story is told, I want to return to exploring philosophical questions, especially ones concerning happiness and living life to the fullest. With my new skills, however, I hope to write for a general audience, not just academic specialists. If I am able to do that well, I would consider myself a writer.
Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
Apart from co-parenting a teenager, I do not do anything full-time. Instead, I do a lot of things part-time. Teaching, serving on committees, volunteering, all these all take up a good chunk of my day. Still, I devote on average an hour or two each day to writing, usually very early in the morning, when no one else needs my attention. One advantage to having several balls in the air all the time is that I do not suffer from writer’s block. I always push away from my desk wanting to do more. So, when my fingers hit the keyboard the next day, I pick up right where I left off
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I am from Nebraska. Quirks are frowned upon there.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I always knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. However, it changed almost daily. That has been the case my entire life. I have always found everything so interesting once I delve into it deeply that I could never commit to anything in particular. Life, it is said, rewards specialization. That was not my path, however. Never having settled into a well-worn groove is what makes life truly interesting for me.
Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
I would love to hear from readers. Feel free to email me at jeff.seitzer5120@gmail.com.
Links:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon | Spark Press
Thanks for being here today, Jeff.