Book description
Drawing on the revelatory results of a landmark study, William Damon --
one of the country's leading writers on the lives of young people, whose
book
Greater Expectations
won the Parents' Choice Award -- brilliantly investigates the most
pressing issue in the lives of youth today: why so many young people are
"failing to launch" -- living at home longer, lacking career
motivation, struggling to make a timely transition into adulthood, and
not yet finding a life pursuit that inspires them.
His groundbreaking study shows that about one-fifth of youth today
are thriving -- highly engaged in activities they love and developing
a clear sense of what they want to do with their lives -- but
approximately one-fourth are still rudderless, at serious risk of
never fulfilling their potential. The largest portion are teetering on
the brink, in need of guidance to help them move forward: some are
"dabblers" who pursue strings of disconnected interests with
no real commitment; others, "dreamers" who have no realistic
plans or understanding of what success will require.
What makes the difference? Damon shows that the key ingredient for
the highly engaged is that they have developed a clear sense of
purpose in their lives that motivates them and gives them direction.
Based on in-depth interviews, he takes readers inside the minds of the
disengaged and drifting kids and exposes their confusion and anxiety
about what they should do with their lives. He then offers compelling
portraits of the young people who are thriving and identifies the nine
key factors that have made the difference for them, presenting simple
but powerful methods that parents and all adults can and must employ
in order to cultivate that energized sense of purpose in young people
that will launch them on the path to a deeply satisfying and
productive life.
"As a leading authority on meaning and moral
development, Damon writes a timely and important book on one of our
most pressing social issues -- how to instill a sense of purpose in
the lives of children. Damon gives us a fresh and useful way to look
at both education and character development." -- Dr. Mary Pipher,
author of Reviving Ophelia and Writing to Change the
Worlds
