Episode
Ep 26: One Dad's Honest Take on Anger, Divorce, and Showing Up
- Podcast
- The Dad Manual
- Published
- Jun 23, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2340
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://share.transistor.fm/s/1c153c0e
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Summary
What happens when a dad of three daughters confronts the anger he inherited? Tony sits down with his brother Evan Cooper, father to Rachel, Pia, and Evie, for one of the most personal conversations yet. Evan opens up about the girl-dad learning curve, the moment he realized he was passing his own childhood wounds to his kids, and the practice he calls equanimity. They get real about staying married versus co-parenting, and how cooking and entrepreneurship shaped his daughters. Key takeaways: Why "three under two" reshaped everything about their parenting Recognizing and interrupting generational patterns of yelling Equanimity: staying composed instead of reacting to chaos The honest debate over staying together for the kids How cooking became a way to connect with his daughters Why watching your child in pain is a dad's hardest moment Emotional intelligence as the real preparation for fatherhood If you enjoyed The Dad Manual, leave us a rating on your podcast app! If you loved it, share this episode with a Dad! Send your questions to [email protected]. Connect with Tony Cooper: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thetonycooper/ 00:00 If you can't hear the kids 00:34 Meet my brother Evan Cooper 02:00 Three daughters, three under two 04:30 Liquid gold and dividing the nights 06:30 Man-to-man and the power play 08:00 The girl-dad learning curve 11:00 Doing the research, missing the rest 14:00 Generational anger and yelling 17:30 Equanimity and staying composed 20:30 The moment it broke my heart 23:00 Staying married or co-parenting 28:00 What the girls actually took from it 31:30 Cooking as a way to connect 34:00 Entrepreneurship and a different work life 36:00 The hardest part: watching them hurt 38:00 Advice for a brand-new dad