I met Alan Smyth about 20 years ago when we both attended a church in Fremont, California. He was the local Young Life Director and clearly a guy with great talent. Over the years we’ve both moved and the relationship has ebbed and flowed as they all do, but we’ve remained in touch.
A year or so ago he asked me about a post I’d written on parenting. Turns out he was working on a book about fathers and daughters. We swapped a few emails, and ultimately I wrote a few small things for his blog and his upcoming book.
Then earlier this year Prized Possession
Prized Possession certainly reflects Alan’s perspective on parenting a daughter, but it also reflects wisdom from many of his friends. He’s pulled together dozens of insights from others and incorporated them into the book (bias alert: I’m one of them). The result is a sort of compendium of wisdom, thoughts and perspectives from a deep base of knowledge.
Although the book could be better — c’mon, Alan, your picture on the back makes you look like an aging rugby player — this is a valuable resource for anybody who has a daughter. I’m proud of my friend and his great work to raise up a generation of spiritually and emotionally strong young women.
