Dear Son,

It must have been 2006, maybe 2007, about ten years before you were born, when I ran into actor and comedian Brandon T. Jackson on Father’s Day in Chicago’s Midway Airport. I didn’t know Bran- don that well at the time, but we were both on the Los Angeles comedy scene pretty heavy. We stopped and spoke to one another. Had we seen each other anywhere in Los Angeles, this same moment would’ve warranted nothing more than a brief head nod out of respect.

But stand-up comedy is such an isolating, nomadic life, especially on travel days. When you see another comedian in the airport it feels good, even if you don’t know them that well. You are in a place with thousands of strangers, and you have found the one per- son who understands exactly what you’re going through. A moment that would be a passing head nod on the streets of Hollywood becomes a full-on conversation in an airport.

From comedian, Emmy-nominated writer and producer, and former Daily Show correspondent Roy Wood Jr., an unforgettable, laugh-out-loud funny memoir revealing that sometimes the best advice comes from the most surprising teachers.

When Roy Wood Jr. held his baby boy for the first time, he was relieved that his son was happy and healthy, but he felt a strange mix of joy and apprehension. Roy’s own father, a voice of the civil rights movement in Birmingham, Alabama, had passed away when Roy was sixteen. There were gaps in the lessons passed down from father to son and, holding his own child, Roy wondered: Have I managed to fill in those blanks, to learn the lessons I will one day need to teach my boy?

So Roy looked back to determine who had taught him lessons throughout his life and which he could pass down to his son. Some of his father figures were clear, like a colorful man from Philadelphia navigating life after prison, who taught Roy the value of having a vision for his life, or his fellow comedians, who showed him what it took to make it as a working stand-up performer. Others were less obvious, from the teenage friends who convinced him to race “leaf boats” carrying lit matches in the middle of a drought to a drug-addicted restaurant colleague who played hoops while Roy scoured dirty dishes to big names in Hollywood, like Trevor Noah, and more.

In The Man of Many Fathers, Roy shares what he’s learned with humor and heart, delivering the most memorable lessons, such as how to channel anger through a more successful outlet (hint: never ever try to outfox a single mom), how not to get caught snitching (hint: never snitch), and how to become a good man—and a good dad (hint: listen to your fathers).