New Book Reveals Parenting Lessons From A Tragedy

STAMFORD, Conn., Oct. 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Reid Hollister was a rambunctious, handsome, and sometimes rebellious 17-year-old teenager. While he delighted many friends with humor, he struggled as a student and chafed at guidance. As he began his senior year in high school, Reid suddenly found himself accused of misconduct, which he vehemently denied.  Several days later, while driving on a highway, Reid died in a one-car crash.

His Father Still: A Parenting Memoir (Published by Argo Navis, a division of Perseus Books, October 2015) is Reid's father's disarmingly candid account of the tumult of parenting Reid through his teenage years, and then confronting the unthinkable obligations of a father to a son after a sudden tragedy. But this book is about much more than parenting and grief: In the months following Reid's crash, as Tim Hollister worked to steady himself and his family, he found himself consumed by an accelerated need to answer two questions: Had he been a good father? And in raising Reid, had he struck the right balance between exposing him to life's risks while protecting him from life's dangers?

Answers came in large part from a flood of condolences conveyed through letters and emails, and also in social media posts – which at the time, 2006, were a brand-new phenomenon. From these messages emerged a mosaic of Reid's character and personality that was barely known to Tim while Reid was alive because, as parents raise teens by "letting out the tether," they see less of and know less about their kids. Thus, after Reid's passing, Tim learned more about his son than he had known while Reid was alive.

O Magazine said of the book: "May Hollister's soul-searching serve as a cautionary tale for every reader."

"Eventually, it occurred to me that parents would benefit from a story of attending to a teenager's legacy after a tumultuous life, a sudden death, a barrage of questions and doubts, a reassessment of what had happened and what might have been done differently, and eventually a wistful and new appreciation of my son's life and a way for us to go forward as father and son," writes Tim in the book's introduction,  "I considered that parents might be emboldened to say no and to make better decisions, or at least approach their choices with an added perspective and be more appreciative of what they have."

Contact: Media Connect, Brian Feinblum 212-583-2718 [email protected]

SOURCE Reid Hollister