John Turner never imagined that more than 20 years after he started spending annual “Daddy Days” with his first child, he would still be carrying on the tradition with all three of his children — even through adulthood, hard times, and long distances — or that he would write an award-winning book about his family’s adventures.
“I never thought I would write a book about it,” he said. “It’s a fun, easy read, but it challenges dads to step it up with their relationship with their kids.”
Turner will talk about his book, “Daddy Days: A Recipe for a Life of Adventure and Relationship With Your Family,” at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Toadstool Books in Peterborough. “Daddy Days,” which is co-authored by journalist and writer Jay Bouchard, was released by publisher Peter E. Randall in October 2025 and is available at local booksellers and online.
Turner’s three children all contributed testimonials to the book, writing about the impact the tradition had on them.
The rules of Turner’s “Daddy Days” tradition are simple: he sets aside one day a year to spend exclusively with each of his three kids, and each one gets to choose what they want to do — whether it’s cooking, hiking a mountain, or exploring a city. Turner says he just booked tickets to Denver for his annual day with his young adult son, now living in Texas, who chose to go skiing and skinning in Colorado this year.
“People kept telling me I had to write a book about this tradition we have, because it was so cool,” Turner said. “I had all these anecdotes, and I finally thought, maybe I should try to make it into a book.”
Turner connected with Denver-based author Jay Bouchard, a New Hampshire native who has written for “Outside” and “Ski” magazines, to write the book.
“I’m an engineer. I’m not a writer,” Turner said.
Turner’s Daddy Days were inspired by a tradition he had with his own father, who is now 95.
“My dad would give each of us one day with him where we could pick what we wanted to do. He would give us a certificate every year. I remember my very first one — I chose to go to the Boston Aquarium, which had just opened,” Turner said. “I always chose outdoor stuff with my dad, like climbing Mt. Washington.”
Turner, an engineer, Christmas tree farmer, and avid outdoorsman, raised his own three kids to love outdoor adventures, including skiing at Crotched Ski & Ride in Bennington. One chapter relates the story of Turner’s catastrophic crash while skiing at the mountain in 2011, and his subsequent recovery.
“I was skiing with my son, and I went off a huge jump and landed upside-down on my head. I had landed on the backs of my skis, which you should never do, and I had a cracked scapula, had a broken pelvis, a dislocated hip — I was a mess,” Turner said. “I was so grateful to Ski Patrol and to Monadnock Hospital.”
Turner kept up Daddy Days with his three children throughout his long rehabilitation.
“I thought when my kids grew up and moved away, they wouldn’t want to do it anymore, but they did,” he said. “They were like, don’t even think about it, Dad!”
The tradition helped Turner stay connected with his son during a period when his son was unemployed, homeless and struggling.
“My son went through a period that was really hard,” Turner said. “It has really helped us that we always knew we would have this time to spend time together, to talk about life, and what’s next. We always did this, every year, even when we were really far apart in ideology.”
Turner recently did an author talk and fundraiser with a local Boys and Girls Club, and was thrilled to later get feedback from people who had read the book.
“A lot of people told me, ‘I spent more time with my family after reading this book,’ ” Turner said. “My philosophy is, spending time with your family — special time, not just chores and routine — that should be a recipe for your life. When it’s one-on-one with one of your kids, you really get inside their heart and their head.”
After many years of watching Turner take off on adventures with the three kids, Turner’s wife, Renee, asked when it was her turn.
“So I created ‘Tarzan Time’ for her, and now we take off on an adventure every year too, whatever she wants to do. We’ve been to Quebec, we’ve been to New York City,” Turner said. “It’s one-on-one time, and it’s apart from the daily grind, and it makes a difference.”
For more information about “Daddy Days” go to: perpublisher.com/portfolio-item/daddy-days/.