Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons - Hardcover

Pollack, William.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0375501312 ISBN 13: 9780375501319

Publisher: Random House, 1998

Synopsis

Boys today are in crisis. On the surface, many boys may appear tough, confident, and cheerful, but underneath, many of them are sad,
lonely, and confused. As the bestselling Reviving Ophelia took us into the worlds of girls, this groundbreaking book reveals the worlds of
boys to show how society's mixed messages to boys put more of them at risk today than ever before. Boys' voices and experiences rise up
from these pages as Dr. William Pollack of the Harvard Medical School draws on almost two decades of work with boys as well as on a recent
study called "Listening to Boys' Voices" to present new findings about the true nature of boys and new insights into how to raise them to
become happier, more confident, more successful men.
        "I get a little down," says Adam,"but I hide it very well. I'd say I wear a mask of some sort. Even when kids call me names or try to taunt me,
I'd never show them how much it was crushing me inside. I'd keep it all in."
        Pollack reveals how many boys today are like Adam, whose confident exterior hides painful feelings of loneliness and isolation.
Other boys are in trouble overtly--depressed, suicidal, doing less well at school than they could, having trouble with or with friends.
Real Boys shows why, and what to do about it. Pollack describes how outdated gender stereotypes push boys to conform to society's inhibiting
Boy Code, even as boys are pressured to relate to girls in new ways. Boys conceal themselves behind a mask of independence, which not only
prevents them from truly knowing themselves but makes it difficult for us to know them. Conventional expectations about masculinity still
encourage people to treat boys like "little men," and to raise them through a toughening process.

About this title

Review

"Anyone who lives or works with boys and men should read "Real Boys"." --Gail Sheehy

"A thoughtful and sensitive discussion of contemporary American boyhood." --Dr. Robert Coles, author of "The Moral Intelligence of Children"

"Just as Reviving Ophelia opened our eyes to the challenges faced by adolescent girls, " Real Boys" helps us hear and respond to the needs of growing boys." --Judith Jordan, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School

"Anyone who lives or works with boys and men should read "Real Boys."" --"Gail Sheehy"

"A thoughtful and sensitive discussion of contemporary American boyhood." --"Dr. Robert Coles, author of The Moral Intelligence of Children"

"Just as Reviving Ophelia opened our eyes to the challenges faced by adolescent girls, " Real Boys" helps us hear and respond to the needs of growing boys." --"Judith Jordan, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School"

Anyone who lives or works with boys and men should read "Real Boys." "Gail Sheehy"

A thoughtful and sensitive discussion of contemporary American boyhood. "Dr. Robert Coles, author of The Moral Intelligence of Children"

Just as Reviving Ophelia opened our eyes to the challenges faced by adolescent girls, " Real Boys" helps us hear and respond to the needs of growing boys. "Judith Jordan, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School""

Anyone who lives or works with boys and men should read Real Boys. Gail Sheehy

A thoughtful and sensitive discussion of contemporary American boyhood. Dr. Robert Coles, author of The Moral Intelligence of Children

Just as Reviving Ophelia opened our eyes to the challenges faced by adolescent girls, Real Boys helps us hear and respond to the needs of growing boys. Judith Jordan, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School

"

"Anyone who lives or works with boys and men should read Real Boys." --Gail Sheehy

"A thoughtful and sensitive discussion of contemporary American boyhood." --Dr. Robert Coles, author of The Moral Intelligence of Children

"Just as Reviving Ophelia opened our eyes to the challenges faced by adolescent girls, Real Boys helps us hear and respond to the needs of growing boys." --Judith Jordan, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School

From the Back Cover

Based on William Pollack's groundbreaking research at Harvard Medical School for more than two decades, Real Boys explores this generation's "silent crisis": why so many boys are sad, lonely, and confused although they may appear tough, cheerful, and confident. Pollack challenges conventional expectations about manhood and masculinity that encourage parents to treat boys as little men, raising them through a toughening process that drives their true emotions underground. Only when we understand what boys are really experiencing, says Pollack, can parents and teachers help them develop more self-confidence and the emotional savvy they need to deal with issues such as depression and violence, drugs and alcohol, sexuality and love.

Edition details

• Publisher: Random House
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0375501312
• ISBN 13: 9780375501319
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 447