My father died on May 20th, which has afforded me a lot of time – perhaps too much – to think about fathers and mental health. With Father’s Day approaching, I thought it appropriate to talk about the role and importance of fathers in our lives. For me, writing about fathers is difficult because I had a complicated relationship with my father. I was conceived outside of a long-term marriage, and my father’s presence in my life was erratic at best. My relationship with him was