Bestselling author DeVon Franklin is back with another book to improve relationships, and this time he’s leaving his beautiful wife, actress Meagan Good, out of it.
Although the two joined forces to pen their New York Times bestselling book, The Wait, which encouraged couples to use abstinence as a tool to improve relationships, Franklin this time was inspired by another family member to write a book just for men; and women too.
The Truth About Men, hitting bookshelves February 5, 2019, was inspired by Franklin’s late father, Donald.
“He passed away when I was 9 years old,” Franklin told ESSENCE exclusively. “Years after he passed away, I found out he was unfaithful with my mother. It really began to make me think: ‘My goodness, well if my Dad was this way, what does this mean for me?’”
“’What does this say about me? Am I going to be predisposed?” he continued.
Franklin said it was important to him that he didn’t repeat his father’s mistakes and “hurt the women in my life.”
“I don’t want to be the type of man that says one thing and does another,” Franklin explained. “It really made me more aware of navigating the ‘dog’ in me.”
In fact, “mastering the dog,” is a chapter in Franklin’s The Truth About Men. It’s the film producer’s metaphor for mastering men’s ability — or lack thereof — to control lust that’s detrimental to building healthy relationships.
This is why The Truth About Men, Franklin said, isn’t just for men. It’s also for women to provide insight on how men really think, and the motives behind some of their most troubling, or problematic, ways.
So what’s a ‘dog’ moment?
Franklin gave an example: If a man is keeping you in “the grey area” when it comes to dating, he hasn’t mastered the dog within him. He advises women in relationships with those types of men to dump them. Just kidding; he advises women to “ask direct questions and wait for direct answers. “
“The dog likes to hide in the shadows, but you have to bring the dog into the light,” he added.
Along with holding a mirror up to Black men, Franklin hopes that The Truth About Men will also create a featherbed of support and a “safe space” to allow Black men the breadth and freedom to emote – whether or not it subscribes to the very limiting expectations of masculinity.
“As men we need a safe space to be able to talk because when we express what we feel — and we’re met with judgment or we’re met with, ‘How could you?’ — that shuts us down,” Franklin said. “And it’s so important for…the women in our lives to be a safe space.”
Franklin’s The Truth About Men is available for pre-order now.
