Peggy - The Takeaway: 20 Unforgettable Life Lessons Every Father Should Pass on to His Child

Finally, a book that really will make you a better and happier person! Every parent and child will treasure Pat and Karyns rock-solid advice, touching stories, and practical takeaway nuggets. As they write, Every decision youre making today will affect you tomorrow, so make good ones.The best decision you can make today is to read this book.

E.D. Hill
Mother of eight and national television and radio host

Pat and Karyn Williamss new book, The Takeaway, is packed with wisdom. Im so pleased they decided to pass it on to all of us. I loved the book and you will, too.

George Foreman
Two-time heavyweight champion

As a father of four girls and grandfather of ten more, I greatly identify with Pat Williams and his approach to fatherhood. And nothing can please me more than having a daughter like Karyn to echo and endorse my efforts of fathering. Life is a learn as you go proposition for all of us, and nobody gets it all right. But its so heartwarming to know that those you love return your love, and appreciate the efforts youve made on their behalf. Pat Williams is a fortunate man.

Pat Boone
Pop music singing legend

The Takeaway is a treasure chest filled with invaluable life lessons Karyn Williams has learned from her dad. These life lessons are for parents who are shaping their childrens lives by what they teach them and for anyone who dares to live life in a big way! Youll be amazed at the gems you will take away from this book.

Denise Jackson
Bestselling author and wife of country music star, Alan Jackson

As a father of four wonderful children, I was deeply moved by the sentiments shared in The Takeaway by Pat Williams and his daughter, Karyn. I believe this book could radically alter the relationships of parents and their children for the better. We desperately need this in our world today. Please read this book... for your familys sake!

Jonathan Falwell
Pastor, Thomas Road Baptist Church, Lynchburg, Virginia

Reading these endearing stories is like looking at another familys portrait and being surprised to find yourself in it!Thank you, Pat and Karyn, for sharing your lives in a way that we can all enjoy and improve our own.

Dr. Joel C.Hunter
Senior Pastor, NorthlandA Church Distributed, Longwood, Florida

The Takeaway touched me both as a mother and a daughter. Not only was my heart filled with gratitude toward my own father, but as I read Karyns musings I was reminded of the great importance of boundaries, tough love, and most important, grace, for the journey in raising my own little girl. Hats off to Karyn for such an inspiring read!

Shelley Breen
Point of Grace

I really enjoyed reading the lessons Karyn learned from her dad, Pat. I see many parallels in my relationship with my own darling dad. This book is mandatory reading for every father and his daughters sons, too!

Gretchen Carlson
Anchor, FOX & Friends

The
Takeaway

20 Unforgettable Lessons Every Father
Should Pass On to His Child

Pat Williams and Karyn Williams

with Peggy Matthews Rose

www.hcibooks.com

Quotations marked NIV are from the Holy Bible, new International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,Wheaton, IL 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
is available through the Library of Congress.

2009 Pat Williams and Karyn Williams

eISBN-13:978-0-7573-9597-0 eISBN-10:0-7573-9597-X

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

HCI, its logos, and marks are trademarks of Health Communications, Inc.

Publisher: Health Communications, Inc.
3201 S.W. 15th Street
Deerfield Beach, FL 334428190

R-07-09

Cover design by Kristen Vasgaard
Cover photo iStockphoto
Interior tag photo Karin Lau, Fotolia.com
Interior design and formatting by Lawna Patterson Oldfield

CONTENTS

CHAPTER 15: Choose Your Friends Carefully
Who You Hang with Is Who
Youll Become

CHAPTER 17: There Are No Guarantees That Youll
Get Along with Your Family

CHAPTER 18: Does He/She Make You a
Better Person?

CHAPTER 19: Be the Woman or Man YOU
Want To Be

To daddies and daughters everywhere,
as well as mothers and sons...
with the firm conviction that there is something
memorable to take away from every day
you spend together.
With love,
Pat and Karyn Williams

W ith deep appreciation I acknowledge the support and guidance of the following people who helped make this book possible: Special thanks to Alex Martins, Bob Vander Weide, and Rich DeVos of the Orlando Magic.

I have been highly honored to collaborate with my daughter Karyn on this book. I am very proud of her and extremely impressed with her writing ability.

Thanks also to our writing partner Peggy Matthews Rose for her superb contributions in shaping this manuscript.

Hats off to four dependable associatesmy assistant Latria Leak,my trusted and valuable colleague Andrew Herdliska,my ace typist Fran Thomas, and my longtime adviser Ken Hussar.

Hearty thanks also go to my friend Peter Vegso and his fine team at HCI. Thank you all for believing that we had something important to share and for providing the support and the forum to say it.

And finally, special thanks and appreciation go to my wonderful and supportive family. They are truly the backbone of my life.

PatWilliams

P eter Vegso, it was sitting in the car in December of 2007 that this book got its legs, and I am forever indebted to you. I will never forget your reaction to my song Taking You with Me when you said, Every father in America needs to hear this. I couldnt agree more and I thank you for giving me the platform to make that happen.

To the incredible team at HCI, thank you for your unwavering belief in this project, and for faithfully seeing it through to completion.

To our writer extraordinaire, Peggy Matthews Rose. You have blown me away with your ability to turn words into the most beautiful pictures. Your sweet, gentle spirit has made working on this book such a joy.

Sincere thanks to two special friends, Kristen Vasgaard and Curt Harding. Thank you for sharing in our excitement and joining the effort tomake this book the best it could possibly be.

I would like to thank Tim Fink and SESAC for welcoming me into your family and helping me kick-start my career in Nashville. Its going to be a fun ride!

To Dale Matthews, Stacey Wilbur, and the Brentwood Benson Publishing team. Thank you for opening the door to opportunities I once only dreamed of.

To the greatest family in the worldthank you for loving me the way you do. There is, and always will be, a little bit of all of you in me.