BIG DADDY'S RULES

Steve “the Goomba” Schirripa, who starred on The Sopranos and now plays a dad on the hit ABC Family series, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, brings a welcome dose of humor and old-school advice to the parenting wars, delivering his emphatically antiquated, always hilarious tough-guy stance on what it takes to raise kids today.

In BIG DADDY'S RULES, Schirripa shares his decidedly old-fashioned advice, often comical parenting gaffes (because “big daddys are not only strong as a bull, they’re also sometimes dumb as a board), and always refreshingly honest take on what being a good parent actually means. Schirripa knew he was in trouble the moment he held his first-born in his arms and his heart instantly melted. He knew that he was now in the role of a protector and had taken on an awesome responsibility. Overprotective? Maybe. Willing to tone it down? Absolutely not. Schirripa shares hilarious stories about staring his daughter’s new boyfriend down, getting in the face of someone whose gaze lingered just a little too long on his daughter, and nearly ripping the head off of a teacher who made a less than appropriate comment in class. But Schirripa isn’t just cracking jokes here – he wants dads to know that what they’re feeling is completely normal, and offers useful guidance for being a father, not a friend. With a mixture of out-of-date bravado and self-effacing humor, Schirripa recounts how he navigated the wild waters of raising two teenage daughters in a world that glorifies teen moms, sex tapes, and underage drinking, and offers an often thought-provoking response to books like Battle Hymn of a Tiger Mother and Bringing Up Bebe.
STEVEN R. SCHIRRIPA was a break-out star on the phenomenally popular HBO series, The Sopranos. He is the New York Times best selling author of A Goomba’s Guide to Life, and currently stars in the hit ABC Family series, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, where he plays a single, hard-working father of a teenage boy. Schirrippa also hosts Investigation Discovery’s Nothing Personal, a series that showcases real-life stories of murder for hire and gets over one million viewers. Schirripa lives in New York with his wife and two daughters. PHILIP LERMAN is the author of Dadditude: How a Real Man Became a Real Dad, and the co-author of several books, including No Mercy. Lerman is the former co-executive producer of “America’s Most Wanted,” the longest-running crime show in TV history, and former national editor of USA Today. He lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife, son, stepdaughter, and a neurotic dog.