Somewhere along the line, the American male sat at the negotiating table with the American female and got fleeced, according to author Michael Lewis. The modern American father has new responsibilities that his dad never had to manage.
"I got sort of frustrated at my ineptitude right after I had my first child and I was just amazed at how tougher a deal I had than my father," Lewis, father of three, tells NPR's Steve Inskeep.
His wife, former MTV news reporter, Tabitha Soren, "somehow got a deal my mother would have killed for and I couldn't understand what happened," he says.
Lewis jokes that his father would see him changing diapers and he ask, "'What are you doing?' You're not supposed to do that. I didn't talk to you until you were 21.'"
Lewis chronicles his thoughts on being a modern father in his new book, Home Game: An Accidental Guide to Fatherhood. The sometimes brutally honest book was written in real time, not looking back on fatherhood.
Avoiding the unpleasant chores of fatherhood may be hardwired, he says.
"There were a lot of poo diapers. There was a lot of getting up in the middle of the night. We were both absolutely miserable. No one prepares you for how much it sucks," Lewis says. "Someone's gotta tell the world what this is like."
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