Customer Reviews

The Forgotten Future: Adolescents in Crisis

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Ms Ebel has written a fascinating and disturbing book on a subject that
is all too often pushed into the darkest corners of society. It is a
must read for anyone seriously interested in helping adolescents, and for those who are not aware that the problem exists.

The Forgotten Future is a well written and richly detailed account of Deborah Ebel's experiences over the course of her career as a psychiatric nurse and the myriad of issues that can be involved with working in adolescent inpatient settings. Her compassion for others and for her work is evident throughout the book, which is highly recommended.

The stories that make up the bulk of the book are compelling and heart-wrenching. Anyone interested in the problems of youth or in our attempts to provide psychiatric services will find this a fascinating book. I found myself drawn into as if I were reading a good novel. And afterwards I found myself dwelling on the issues and lessons the book addresses. A very good book - I highly recommend it.

Is it really the right answer to send a kid away from home when they have a mental problem? "The Forgotten Future: Adolescents in Crisis" is an examination of children throughout the country who are suffering from mental disorders - and are placed in mental hospitals, foster homes, boot camps, and other 'treatment' solutions so often suggested by professionals. Are these solutions actually solving anything, or could they be feeding the very problems they've set out to cure? Calling for improvements in the mental health care system, "The Forgotten Future: Adolescents in Crisis" is highly recommended for community library psychology collections.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This narrative non-fiction is gripping and informative about the untold problems with our psychiatric care when it comes to adolescents. I did not know about these issues before reading this book but it has appauled me that we, as a nation, have not done more to remedy this issue. This book is a must read for anyone who has a teenager or is concerned about the mental health care of our future.

I normally read fiction, and I have to say that this book is not only educational and certainly a must for anyone who has troubled children, but also reads like a novel. An excellent read and a valuable font of information on this subject. I was especially impressed to see the sections on what to look for in an institution if you are contemplating getting your child help in this fashion. This really should be a textbook for people in the field of adolescent psychology. I highly recommend this book to professionals and laymen alike.

Writing a book about troubled teens has been an enormously challenging task. While pulling together the notes-to-self that I had written and saved over the years, I found myself re-experiencing many of the emotions I felt as I worked with the kids. It was as if time had not passed, as if I could hear the kids talking, laughing, acting out, threatening, pleading, sobbing--as I were once again in a position of wanting to help but often not knowing the best way to do so. Being constrained by my role and hoping with all my heart that what I had learned--and continued to learn every day--would carry us through. Hoping that the hurt and the pain and the trauma experienced by so many could recede, would recede, back in their minds to a place where each child would become his or her best self. Fearing that would not happen but hoping that the care each child received might make a difference in their lives. Coming to learn that the system of care which I had so believed and trusted in was often a system that I did not know or understand.

The Forgotten Future: Adolescents in Crisis tells the stories of a handful of young people with whom I have worked over the years. You will hear them speak and feel their pain and you will come to hope for the best for each of them. You will learn the magnitude of the problem facing America as we deal with and help troubled children to grow and become our leaders: our doctors, teachers, legislators, electricians, mothers and fathers, and others. With an estimated twenty percent of America's children under the age of 18 afflicted with emotional and behavioral disorders, hundreds of thousands of these young people are confined each year to psychiatric hospitals, residential treatment centers, therapeutic foster homes, boot camps, and behavioral academies. While in some cases children may very appropriately be referred to and treated within inpatient psychiatric facilities, one must question the benefit of many of these out-of-home placements.

The Forgotten Future offers an unprecedented eye-opening look into the lives of a group of seriously-troubled teens whose families have entrusted them to the care of inpatient psychiatric hospitals. You may come to question whether our hospitalized children are really receiving the best mental health treatment available, while at the same time you will be encouraged to learn of the dedication and hard work of individuals who work with our children despite the many challenges of their chosen profession. You will come away convinced that our nation must rally to provide a mental health care system that truly works, and you will agree that our children deserve a chance to reach their goals and live to their greatest potential. Their futures must not be forgotten.

I recently purchased a copy of THE FORGOTTEN FUTURE: ADOLESCENTS IN CRISIS
and found it to be a facinating account of the author's experiences in various adolescent treatment facilities. The author's affection and concern for the patients and staff comes through on every page. Appendix A
is a manual for parents and guardians who come to the realization that their child needs help. Appendix B is an extensive listing of resources
and organizations which a stressed parent may find helpful. I would highly
recommend this book to any parent who has a troubled child; and to all
middle and high school counselors and administrators.