When my child was taken from my everyday life-everything I defined myself as-instantly collapsed-vanished-yet a teary eyed telephone call woke me up and literally snapped me back and into a realization that there was still someone who put their unconditional faith and trust in me-their "daddy"-for that little person on the phone only wanted a daddy's promise to do three basic things; i)always be honest;ii)always be there; and iii) tell bedtime stories. The very same things, it occurred to me, my parents gave to me. When my child was 13, I made two promises. First I would write a book for weekend Dads just showing them how we got through those difficult years. Second, I would write a book of the bedtime stories I told. This is the first of those promises. It doesn't lecture, it doesn't point fingers. It just tells dads, I've been there, and survived-and may it be a simple, positive group of ideas that could help any Dad.