Today Show Cohost Craig Melvin's New Book Will Make You Want to Call Your Dad

Today show cohost Craig Melvin has learned a thing or two about what it means to be a good dad. In his series "Dads Got This!," the South Carolina native and father to two celebrates men across America who go the extra mile for their children and their communities. But until recently, the journalist hadn't spent much time talking about fatherhood with his own dad, who struggled with addiction through much of Melvin's life. His new book, Pops: Learning to Be a Son and a Father, hits shelves on June 15, and it's a tribute to fathers everywhere-the ones who never miss a soccer game, the ones who can't make the soccer game because they're working or sick, and the ones who are just doing the best they can. Southern Living chatted with Melvin ahead of the book's release. Here's what he had to say.

Courtesy of Harper Collins / William Morrow

Southern Living: Of all the books you could have written, why this one?

Craig Melvin:"I started a series on the show, "Dads Got This!," a couple years ago and I was doing those stories. I started to think about my relationship with my father a little bit more, and then I was approached by a publishing company who thought this would make for a decent story. I didn't at first, but after a few months, I began thinking, you know, this would be good-not just for my kids and their kids to one day know a little more about who their grandfather and great-grandfather was, but also for anyone who has a loved one who has struggled mightily with addiction, whether it's booze or gambling or drugs. I wrote it to try to do some good. I wrote it as sort of a love letter to my father while he's still alive."

(BUY THE BOOK: $23; amazon.com)

Courtesy of Craig Melvin A young Craig Melvin (right) with his family

SL: What was it like to write about your relationship with your own father after covering the stories of so many other dads?

CM: "It's strange and uncomfortable, but I think it was good. I've never done anything like this. It was nice to stretch muscles that have never been used. People always ask, 'What's been your favorite interview?' I can answer the question now without thinking: It's my dad. For the book, I interviewed him for four hours, and we recorded the interviews, obviously for accuracy, but also for posterity. We'll have those forever. Think about that. Think about being able to ask your parents whatever you wanted for hours on end... That was probably the most rewarding part of the book, minus the actual finished product."

SL: If readers can learn just one lesson from Pops, what do you hope that is?

CM: "We had essentially given up on my father. He was in his mid-60s; drinking and smoking was pretty much what he did. That's kind of what we thought he would always do, who he would always be-an addict. And we didn't give up on him. I know there are a lot of people out there who have family members or loved ones-people that they care deeply about who've been a certain way for a long time-and they just write them off, so I hope readers take away that you should never give up on someone you love."

Courtesy of Craig Melvin Craig (second from right) and his family at his graduation from Wofford College

SL: What would you like to thank your dad for?

CM: "My father taught me the value of hard work. We're talking third shift at the post office for almost forty years. As I was writing the book, I discovered he worked that shift probably half that time while struggling with addiction-going to work hungover, going to work drunk, and he did this for 20 or 30 years just to make ends meet, just to be middle class, to help me go to Wofford, to help my brother go to Winthrop. He didn't take vacations; he didn't call in sick. He was at the post office save a few days every year. I saw that example up close growing up...

He's also very comfortable in his own skin. If you like him for who he is, that's fine; if you don't, that's fine. He's never tried to conform to some sort of societal norm. I think I've gotten that from him to a certain extent. I'm the same on TV as I am off. I try not to pretend to be someone I'm not. That came from Dad. People like to talk about authenticity now, like it's quite the popular buzzword, but Pops was authentic long before everyone else considered themselves authentic-warts and all, I would add."

SL: You talk a lot about your faith in the book and being raised in the church. Did that play a role in your relationship with your father?

"My faith journey is not a straight road. You veer off paths, you come back on; you hit a valley, then you hit a mountain. But I've always been able to have a deep and intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. And there have been times in my life with my dad where all you could really do was pray for him. And you hope that the prayers get answered, and after a few years or decades of not getting answered, all of a sudden, prayers get answered; that's part of what faith is."

SL: What lessons are you teaching your own children, now that you're a father?

CM: "Right now, we're working on teaching them to be comfortable in their own skin. This morning, my wife was having to make [my daughter] Sibby a special lunch because a kid in her class said her lunches were disgusting, so she didn't want to take what she usually takes. I'm going to pick her up, and we're going to devote some time on the ride home from school and talk about being comfortable with your lunch. I know it sounds weird, but obviously the larger issue is being comfortable with who you are."

SL: And finally, you were born and raised in Columbia, South Carolina. What do you miss about the South?

CM: "You could write a separate essay on that. I miss the weather, first and foremost. Scratch that: I miss my family. All of my family lives in SC, literally, except for a second cousin who lives in Chicago. I miss the weather! The first winter we moved up to D.C., we got like 36 inches of snow in the span of three months. It was relentless. I also miss the lifestyle. There is a certain swagger with which people south of the Mason-Dixon carry themselves. It's a slower swagger. Here in New York, it's constant; you've constantly got to do something, got to be somewhere, and that's not how I grew up… You managed to find a lot of ways to waste time; there's no time-wasting now. But that will change when I retire and move back to the South; that's happening. My wife and I have frequent conversations about it."

Buy IT: $23; amazon.com.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.