Iron Dad: A Cancer Survivor's Story of Discovering Strength, Life, and Love Through Fatherhood

A powerful memoir about a dad navigating loss, fighting cancer, surviving, and thriving alongside the most important person in his life—his daughter.

Paul Weigel’s life always felt hard. Throughout his isolated childhood, with distant and detached parents, losing his college sweetheart in a horrible tragedy, and enduring the unexpected death of his father, Weigel spent his life in despair. It all just hurt.

Everything changed when his daughter was born.

From day one, Weigel and his daughter 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’d 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 the ups and downs of his illness and treatment with courage, he trained for and completed an Ironman triathlon within six months of finishing chemotherapy, and he continued to be a dedicated father.

In 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.