Dads write last letters for Stephen Graham book

Fathers have until Monday to contribute letters for a project spearheaded by Adolescence creator and star Stephen Graham.

The Emmy-winning actor is inviting people to share their experiences of manhood and raising boys for a book called Letters to Our Sons, inspired by his Netflix hit series.

Graham has contributed a letter to his own son for the project, which is run in conjunction with Brighton psychology lecturer Orly Klein and due to be published in October.

Sam Zindell, who submitted a letter to his 12-year-old, said he wanted to "impart some wisdom from my lived experience and my deep understanding of my own son".

"Writing things down to give to another person, be them an adult or a member of your family who are kids, is just not something we do anymore," he said.

Graham said when the project was launched that Adolescence helped him realise "there was a greater need for communication between fathers and sons".

"We want to hear from men of all ages, first-time fathers, absent fathers, fathers who've been there but never truly been there, fathers who've lost and fathers who just want to find a way to say I love you," he said.

Klein and Graham said they would make a donation for every letter published to the charity ManUp? and social enterprise Dad La Soul, which supports young men struggling with mental health.

Dan Flanagan, founder of Worthing-based Dad La Soul, has himself submitted a letter.

The organisation worked with Klein to run letter-writing workshops in Brighton.

Flanagan told the BBC there was "something tangible, there is something special and something timeless about writing a letter".

"I've got a 13-year-old son," he said. "If I try and have a sensible conversation with him he's just going to laugh and send me an emoji."

Katy Follain from publisher Bloomsbury UK said the project already received over a thousand submissions from "a wide range of fathers".

"We very much want to continue the conversation that Stephen raised through Adolescence and there are very similar themes that keep coming up in the letters," she said.

Adolescence has sparked a national conversation about the impact of social media and toxic masculinity.

It led to meetings between UK politicians and the programme's creators, and was made available to UK schools for free.

The programme went on to win several Emmy awards in the US.

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