P-Wave Press Announces Becoming Dad: Reflections for New Fathers by L. A. Davenport

POOLE, U.K. - PrZen -- P-Wave Press today announced the forthcoming publication of Becoming Dad: Reflections for New Fathers by L. A. Davenport, publishing in paperback and ebook on 2 February 2027.

Fatherhood is not found in a manual. It is about becoming. New fathers are expected to know what to do: to connect instantly, to hold a steady anchor amid sleepless nights and inconsolable crying. But the reality is messier: a creeping sense of powerlessness, of being surplus to requirements, and the unsettling truth that the bond with your child is not given, but must be built from scratch.

Becoming Dad is not a self-help guide. There are no checklists, no milestones, no promises to fix your infant. Instead, Davenport offers a series of raw, contemplative reflections on the first years of fatherhood: the insecurities and the failures, the renegotiated relationship with your partner, and the moments of connection that make the rest worthwhile. From the constructed nature of the father–child bond to the ambiguous expectations placed on the modern dad, the book confronts the questions that parenting manuals never ask—not how to care for your child, but who you are supposed to be, and what you must become.

The book is written in fragments—eighteen numbered sections, often a single line to a page—designed to be read slowly, one reflection at a time, and returned to. Some fragments resonate; some discomfit; all invite the reader to pause and ask why. The form mirrors the experience it describes: disjointed, nonlinear, and without a neat resolution.

"The book began at our first obstetrician appointment after the pregnancy test came back positive. He argued with us over the conception date, insisting our certainty was wrong because it didn't fit his calculations. The implication was clear: I couldn't be the father. That moment stayed with me. I started noting down thoughts on my phone whenever they came, about what it meant to become a father, what was happening to me as my sons grew."

L. A. Davenport, a Cambridge graduate and medical journalist, is the author of the novels The Nucleus of Reality and Escape, and founder of P-Wave Press. He has two sons.

Formats: Paperback; ebook
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-916937-50-5
ISBN (ebook): 978-1-916937-51-2
Extent: 186 pages
Price: £15.99 / $19.99 (paperback) / £7.99 / $9.99 (ebook)
Retail Available to order from all major retailers.