All kinds of dads celebrated in new guide to fatherhood by Hempfield man

There's no one right way to be a father.

That's what Hempfield's Dominick Domasky realized last year when he had the idea for “The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood.”

Domasky, a motivational speaker and writer, recruited eight other dads from around the country to help him write the book, which came out this spring.

“Everybody comes at fatherhood from a different angle,” Domasky said.

The book features chapters by a quadriplegic raising his three adopted children, a Cleveland dad whose life was torn apart by gang violence, and a man who hated his own father coming to terms with his own role as a parent.

“It is so rich, I love the perspective of nine different dads contributing,” said Joey Faucette, an author from Virginia who contributed to the book.

Domasky said he hopes the variety of perspectives will help the book appeal to a wide range of dads.

Domasky has a 9-year-old daughter and a 6-year-old son. He had the idea for the book in August, and quickly worked to find other fathers who could help him make it happen.

One of his first contacts was Doug Lauffer, a Sewickley pastor, author and professor.

“This is an enormous project, to get nine creative people, who are like cats with their tails on fire, to commit to deadlines,” Lauffer said.

All nine authors were recruited in August or September, had their drafts in by Thanksgiving and were finished by Christmas, Lauffer said.

They connected mostly through social media, Domasky said. There were never more than two of the authors in the same room at a time.

Lauffer is using his proceeds from the book to help fund a liver transplant for his adult son, Brent Lauffer.

Domasky asked each of the authors to cover the same three topics: how they learned to become a good father, what advice they would share with other dads, and what they want to pass on to their children.

“They're all telling different stories,” he said.

Despite their vastly different perspectives, Domasky said there are a few common threads.

“You get nine guys from across the country, and all of them mentioned attitude and perception,” he said.

“The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood” is published by California company Motivational Press and is available on Amazon.com.

Jacob Tierney is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-836-6646 or jtierney@tribweb.com.