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Indeed, he told People magazine earlier this year, his daughter was one of the things that kept him going, even in the darkest of times.

“I also do feel I have things to live for. There have been times, honestly, in my life that I figured, ‘I’ve had a good run — why not just do this stupid thing, this selfish thing … jump off a cliff into water of indeterminate depth,'\" he told the magazine. \"I don’t know that I would do that today — now that I’m a dad or reasonably happy.”

His daughter influenced him so much, Bourdain said, that one of his books from a couple years ago, \"Appetites,\" was a stark departure from the bold, behind-the-scenes \"Kitchen Confidential\" that made him a star. It was more about entertaining at home for friends and loved ones.

?? #Repost @anthonybourdain Summer's End. @lucaslepri teaches my daughter a little capoeira ??@jeffreyschu

A post shared by ottavia busia-bourdain (@ottaviabourdain) on Aug 28, 2016 at 4:46pm PDT

\"She will never look to men for affirmation, or anyone else for affirmation or self-worth\"

Though it wasn't a book that exposed the restaurant industry like his previous works, it was a piece of literature that seemed to show Bourdain's growth as a human and role model.

\"I’m a dad now of a 9-year-old girl and that’s who I’ve been cooking for for the last better part of nine years, and it makes me really happy,\" he told the Dinner party podcast. \"It’s always been about me, me, me. And I thought this was– I’m not saying I’m giving back, but… it’s a rare departure in that I try to make something that’s useful and reflective of the kind of food that I’ve been making for the last few years as a dad.\"

Above all else, Bourdain said he wanted his little girl to be a man's equal and never feel less than.

\"My soul [sic] duty as a parent and as a father, particularly raising a little girl who is going to grow up to be a young woman, is that she will never look to men for affirmation, or anyone else for affirmation or self-worth or be physically intimidated by anyone,\" he told Mom.me in 2015.

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