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Interview

ICYMI: Don Diamont Interview

Don Diamont Book Signing for "My Seven Sons and How We Raised Each Other"
Don Diamont at the Don Diamont Book Signing for "My Seven Sons and How We Raised Each Other" at Barnes & Noble at The Grove Los Angeles in Los Angeles, CA on June 4, 2018?6/4/18 ?© Jill Johnson/jpistudios.com?310-657-9661 Credit: JPI

B&B’s Don Diamont opens up about the highs and lows of parenting in his new book, My Seven Sons
and How We Raised Each Other
.

 

Soap Opera Digest: What prompted you to write a book?

Don Diamont: In the acknowledgements, I refer to Jan Miller. Cindy and I were at a 65th birthday party for a friend of ours and I was seated next to Jan. We were talking about life and family and partway through our conversation, she said, “You have to write a book.” My initial reaction was, “I don’t think so. I’m probably the last person to write a book. I don’t have the attention span for it.” She was like, “No, you have to write a book.” Well, it turns out that Jan is one of the premier literary agents in the country, certainly one of the top in the world, and when Jan sets her mind to something, it’s pretty much going to happen. So, she was the catalyst.

Digest: How long did it take to complete?

Diamont: Originally, it was supposed to be released last year, in ’17, but then Cindy’s mom got sick and I just couldn’t give it the time and attention. I just couldn’t, so the whole process was a couple of years, and there was a period there where I just wasn’t writing because I couldn’t.

Digest: You begin by talking about your relationship with your own father, who you lost in your early 20s. Was that difficult to revisit?

Diamont: Well, I absolutely felt it was necessary to start there. I don’t know if I realized when I decided to write the book that it would be that much memoir, as well, but every experience with my father influenced the decisions I would make down the road with my kids. So, explaining our relationship and that loss and what that meant to me was significant. As for actually writing about it, yes, it was very challenging emotionally, and it would often put me in a bad mood. Many times, I didn’t want to continue writing because it was painful and unpleasant, but I ultimately persevered.

Instagram

Family Ties: Diamont in 1979 with his late father, Albert, and late brother Jack. “I’ll hold you in my heart forever and always!” he posted on Instagram.

Digest: Was it cathartic?

Diamont: I don’t know if I can say, “God, that was therapeutic.” I don’t think that I learned something new about myself in writing the book; it was more just the challenge of reliving those experiences in such great detail.

Digest: What do your sons think of the book? Did you show them the manuscript ahead of time?

Diamont: I really didn’t want that to cloud what I was going to write, so I didn’t sit and discuss it with them as I wrote it. I just wrote it. They are well aware of the experiences we’ve had together. I didn’t embellish anything. I didn’t hold back on anything. Those stories went down exactly as I tell them. As of this moment, they have not all read the book yet. I didn’t give them the manuscript. I wanted them to see the actual book, so they will be reading it posthaste.

Digest: Do you anticipate any push-back, since you share your parenting stories, warts and all?

Diamont: I don’t know. These experiences happened. Ultimately, it’s really about coming out on the other side, which they all did, and they’re all great men today. Some are now young men and some are still kids, but they are all great guys, and these are the growing pains and adolescent experiences that we went through together. I think they will appreciate the honesty. I don’t think anybody will respond with, “I can’t believe you wrote that. I can’t believe you let people know this.” I don’t anticipate that at all. They knew I was writing a book on raising kids and our family. I never got, “Daddy, don’t write about this.” Not at all. They were all supportive of it, and they knew what the context was going to be, so I don’t anticipate any real hurt feelings.

Digest: With your sons getting older, do you and Cindy look forward to or dread becoming empty-nesters?

Diamont: Actually, we’ve already said that once all these kids are out of the house, there will be a grandkid being dropped off at some point, so we don’t think we will ever truly experience an empty nest. I highly doubt it!

JPI

Togetherness: “We don’t think we will ever truly experience an empty nest,’ says Diamont of he and wife Cindy Ambuehl. 

Digest: Do you miss the baby days?

Diamont: I loved those days! My favorite time of all was when you have them on the changing table and they need you. You get them all clean and put the lotion on and put their little jammies on. It’s such an intimate experience with your kid, because the transition starts from them recognizing you when you get little smiles, to cooing, and then they start to form words — that all takes place during that period of time when you have them on a changing table. That was my most favorite time of all.

Digest: How does it feel to add “author” to your resumé?

Diamont: It feels good. I never, ever honestly thought that I would write a book. I’m still shocked. I really am! And, it’s not like there was initially going to be a ghostwriter on board, where he or she would do these interviews with me and the people in my life and then I get a manuscript and I make little notes here and there and boom, it’s a book. That was not the case, because then it wouldn’t be my voice. It wouldn’t be me. It wouldn’t be my perspective. It just wouldn’t work. I had to write the freaking book, and it was a real challenge, truly. It really was the hardest thing I’ve ever done and so I’m proud that I accomplished it. I think it’s great that my kids will have that, and that my grandkids and descendants will have something written in my own words.

Digest: Have you been bitten by the literary bug now? Might you want to write something else? 

Diamont: Well, I guess writing a book in the first place reinforces, “Never say never,” but I have no plans to write another one. But, who knows? It has been very rewarding. At times, it was very difficult, to where I didn’t want to just sit and write. At other times, I was entertained at reliving some of those experiences with the kids. It was a very emotional process to go through, and for anyone who picks it up to read, I just want to say that I totally appreciate your taking the time, and I sincerely hope that you like it. As I say in the book, when it comes to raising kids, life throws you laughs about 70 percent of the time and it’s only the other 30 percent that you want to kill them [laughs].

My Seven Sons and How We Raised Each Other is available at amazon.com, barnes andnoble.com and in bookstores now.

Instagram

Seventh Heaven: The Diamont clan includes (from l.) Lauren, Sasha, nephew Drew, Luca, Alexander, Anton and (top) Davis. 

 

JUST THE FACTS

Birthday: December 31

Hails From: New York, NY

Happy Wife, Happy Life: Married to Cindy Ambuehl (ex-Amy/Kim, B&B) since June 12, 2012.

A Few Good Men: Diamont’s boys’ club includes son Lauren, 30; nephew Drew, 29; and sons Sasha, 26; Alexander, 23; Luca, 17; and twins Anton and Davis, 15.

Takin’ It To The Streets: “Embarking on a book tour is very exciting, and something I never, ever thought I’d do.”

Call Me By Your Nickname: “I’m a nicknamer, which you’ll see in the book. Some of them are funny, but all of them are pretty true to form, I think.”

Favorite Parental Piece Of Advice? “Don’t do anything stupid!”

 

 

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