Losers, Loners, and Rebels: The Spiritual Struggles of Boys - Softcover

Robert C. Dykstra; Allan Hugh Cole Jr.; Donald Capps

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0664229611 ISBN 13: 9780664229610

Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press, 2007

Synopsis

The early years of adolescence are a tumultuous time, full of challenges and opportunities that can shape one's whole life. In recent years several books have analyzed this period of life for girls, but this is the first book that investigates the interior life of boys as they develop their sense of self and begin the spiritual journey that will carry them throughout their lives. The authors contend that adolescent boys often experience themselves at various times as losers, loners, and rebels. As self-defined losers, boys begin to realize self-awareness; as loners they begin to understand their own relatedness to the larger world; as rebels they gain a sense of self-sufficiency. Through these common experiences of life, boys gain self-awareness, self-transcendence, and self-sufficiency, concepts that take root in the spirituality that will last their lifetime.

About this title

About the Author:

Robert C. Dykstra is the Charlotte W. Newcombe Professor of Pastoral Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey. An ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Dykstra served for a number of years as a minister, youth minister, hospital chaplain, and pastoral counselor.

From Publishers Weekly:

Snakes and snails and puppy dog tails are not the only things of which little boys are made, according to seminary professors Dykstra, Cole and Capps. Each author draws upon his own autobiographical story in this important examination of the spirituality of boys. Boys' spiritual lives, according to the authors, are influenced much more by their negative experiences than by positive ones. These negative experiences are gathered under three archetypes: the loser, the rebel and the loner. Each of these experiences can give rise to spiritual virtues, in this case, self-awareness, self-transcendence and self-sufficiency. While the authors are not psychologists, they have done exhaustive research in this field, and their backgrounds in pastoral care and theology help convey an authentic and holistic approach to an underresearched topic. The practical application of this work, the authors posit, is to demonstrate that by connecting with one's boyhood one is better able to connect with one's own and other men's sons. Many men will find the book's insights and frank honesty enlightening. The authors use the word spirituality ambiguously at times, but this is a minor nuisance in an otherwise important work. (Aug.)
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About this edition

• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0664229611
• ISBN 13: 9780664229610
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 216