A Tempe dad’s book chronicles his life, losses and the bond with his daughter
Paul Weigel’s life always felt hard. After spending his childhood isolated with distant and detached parents, losing his college sweetheart in a horrible tragedy, and the unexpected death of his father, he spent his life in despair.
It all just hurt.
Everything changed when his daughter, Natalie was born. From day one, Weigel and Natalie shared an incredible bond. She was a constant source of peace and inspiration to him, and he was determined to give her the love and security he’d never had. His life and the family that he dreamed about seemed to be finally getting on track—that is until a devastating cancer diagnosis threatened that future.
But this time around, Weigel chose hope. If you believe in the impossible, he told himself, the incredible can come true. Using this mantra, Weigel pushed forward, determined to show his daughter true strength and power—facing his illness’ and treatment’s ups and downs with courage, training and completing an Ironman triathlon within six months of finishing chemotherapy, and continuing his dedication as a loyal father.
In the book he wrote chronicling his story, Iron Dad, Weigel celebrates the unique bond between fathers and daughters and shares an inspiring story of finding and clinging to the joy in life, no matter the odds. Still cancer-free 10 years later, he wrote Iron Dad to share his story with others.
The book is available from Amazon.com.
