Meghan McCain felt 'less alone' without John McCain on Father's Day with 'dead dads club'

Bill Goodykoontz
Updated
Late John McCain's daughter Meghan McCain tweeted about coping with her first Father's Day without her dad. Thousands shared their stories.

People criticize Meghan McCain a lot — and not always without reason — for bringing up her late father all the time.

If you watch “The View,” the ABC morning talk show of which McCain is a co-host, or follow her on Twitter, you usually don’t have to wait too long before you hear her bring up Sen. John McCain. The words “my father” get mentioned a lot.

This drives some people crazy.

Not this time.

Sunday marked McCain’s first Father’s Day without hers; her dad died Aug. 25. Meghan McCain has been public in her grief and her difficulty in getting over her father’s death, so it’s no surprise that she was not looking forward to Father’s Day.

So she took to Twitter to both work her way through her own grief and help others whose fathers have died to get through the day.

She calls it the #deaddadsclub.

“Anyone else out there who is dreading Father’s Day this Sunday — I feel you, and have been trying to come up with something positive to do Sunday,” she tweeted. “So, I want you to feel free to share #deaddadsclub stories on my timeline and I will share it. Maybe we will all feel less alone?”

Evidently so. Scores of people have responded with tweets about losing their own fathers, relating intensely personal, and moving, anecdotes.

“#deaddadsclub @MeghanMcCain, this is such an awesome idea,” one person tweeted. “Lost my dad a little over two years ago, and I will say — the first Father’s Day is the hardest. It never gets easy, but the more time that passes, the easier it gets to let the good memories drown out the sad.”

Not all of the tweets are sad, however. Some are funny, and some are hopeful.

“I miss my dad every single day,” one woman tweeted, “but Father’s Day is a reminder of all of the good fathers I know so I shower them with my love and supports and encourage their children to treasure each moment. #deaddadsclub"

On Father's Day, McCain posted on Twitter a picture of her as a baby with her dad — and Sen. Barry Goldwater. The caption reads, "I love you forever — and I am grateful for it all."

The #deaddadsclub posts are pretty fascinating reading. In an email Thursday, McCain said, “These holidays are really difficult. I have been dreading Father’s Day. Hopefully this is some small way for people to feel less alone and have a sense of community who have lost a father.”

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Meghan McCain felt 'less alone' without John McCain on Father's Day with 'dead dads club'