When given full freedom, many men will piddle. So it is for middle-aged college professor Adam Cherry on Father’s Day. Alone for the day on his newly purchased horse farm in the Midwest, his two daughters and wife away or abroad, Adam finds excitement in an entire day to piddle away—his Father’s Day gift to himself. But this day is one of challenges and interruptions. And each one helps him understand what Father’s Day is truly about. As Adam navigates his Father’s Day, the fatherly influences of seven male role models reveal themselves in the choices he makes, or avoids, and in the behavior he reveals. As the day winds down, he finds himself recalling his own father, and one particularly memorable Father’s Day many years ago. My Father’s Day Gift is a tribute to the importance of male role models—fatherly influences—in the demonstrable character of a man. The influence comes not from lengthy conversations or direct instruction, but the distinct and impressionable moments in everyday interactions.