Becoming a Man

A practical, funny, uplifting, and inspiring collection of letters for Australian young men on how to become the kind of men they want to be.

When Julia Baird's son turned 16, and the internet was rumbling with talk of the manosphere, she decided to ask a handful of family and friends to write a letter to him about what it means to be a good man. The response was overwhelming; her son Sam read them in a three-hour burst. Now inspired by the sincere, open, funny, and wise letters they wrote, Julia, together with Sam, has collected letters, thoughts, and advice from over sixty men on what it means to be, or become a man.

Knowing there are no easy solutions or flawless role models, each of these men has written from the heart, hoping to spark conversation or be given the advice they never were. From writers and thinkers to boxers and cricketers, from journalists to musicians, former politicians and prisoners to farmers, these men have a broad, idiosyncratic, and diverse outlook—sometimes funny, sometimes very moving, sometimes practical, but always thought-provoking. They write about fathers and mentors, sex and love, friendships and families, their own fears, shortcomings and mistakes, and the passions and practices that have sustained them.

Becoming a Man is the perfect gift for any young man—or man of any age—designed to be dipped in and out of, to spark conversations about the men who we most admire and inspire us, and why.