Sacred Lessons – Teaching My Father How to Love

Sacred Lessons: Teaching My Father How to Love

Discover a deeply moving and inspiring memoir for those seeking self-love and healing. Sacred Lessons delves into the struggle men face in connecting with themselves and others, offering tools for personal growth and ways to build meaningful and authentic relationships in their lives.

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You belong. You are sacred. You are welcome here.

Sacred Lessons is an invitation for men to connect and to heal.

In a world where men are often taught to “tough it out” and keep emotions hidden, the pressures of life can feel isolating and overwhelming. Studies show that 1 in 5 men experience mental health challenges such as depression or anxiety, yet many never seek support. Additionally, men are statistically more likely to experience high levels of work-related stress and less likely to share their struggles with others. It’s time to rewrite that narrative. Sacred Lessons is a supportive community for men to have access to healing and wellness tools, services, and events.

“Sacred Lessons is much like the monarch butterfly, it points beyond itself to the connection for which we all long... This fine book reminds us not to ‘break the cycle’ but to heal it.”

Fr. Gregory Boyle, Founder, Homeboy Industries

"This memoir is not just a tale of being a son, or even a father, it's something more, offering a deeply personal yet universal perspective on what it means to love, nurture, and break cycles of emotional repression."

dream hampton, award-winning filmmaker and writer

“This is a memoir of how sensitive men (most are) have had to toughen up to hide this crucial aspect to their soul's detriment. It's also how love comes through even when one is conditioned not to express it."

Luis J. Rodriguez, author of "Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A."

“Sacred Lessons is a beautiful gift. To see and witness the vulnerability and authenticity of our parents, especially our fathers, pushes back against the cultural tide that dehumanizes parents trying to live a full experience in life."

Cole, Founder, Brown Boi Project

"Through ‘Sacred Lessons,’ Mike de la Rocha crafts a brilliantly colorful diptych that questions the many meanings of masculinity across generations. As a new father myself, the pursuit at the core of the memoir, the transmutation of patriarchal traditions into loving, empathetic relationships, is something that is deeply relatable and applicable to my own healing journey."

Vic Mensa, Musician, Actor, Entrepreneur, and Philanthropist

“When you are born, no one gives you a book on how to be a son to a father carrying generations of their own challenges. Then when you become a father, no one gives you a book on how to be a dad and partner. And when your father dies unexpectedly, no one tells you what to do with all that grief and unexpressed love so rather than become toxic, it sets you free.”

Mark Gonzales, award-winning author, storyteller, and entrepreneur

About Mike

Mike de la Rocha is a bestselling author, entrepreneur, and leading voice in men’s healing and emotional transformation. He’s the co-founder of Revolve Impact, an award-winning creative agency merging art and activism, and Tepito Coffee, a social enterprise creating jobs for formerly incarcerated individuals in partnership with Homeboy Industries. Named one of GOOD Magazine’s top 100 people changing the world and recognized as a pioneering innovator by Stanford Social Innovation Review, Mike’s memoir, Sacred Lessons: Teaching My Father How To Love (Regalo Press / Simon & Schuster), is a powerful reflection on masculinity, generational healing, and the courage it takes to transform. A first-generation Chicano and proud alumnus of UCLA, Mike sings in the punk electronic band ON/NOTICE and calls Los Angeles home where he resides with his family. Follow him online at @mrmikedelarocha.