Customer Reviews

Hurt: Inside the World of Today's Teenagers (Youth, Family, and Culture)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My roommate was given this book a few months back. Since I work with the Jr. High group at church, I figured I might find it helpful, so picked it up. What I found was a thought provoking book on today's youth sub-culture.

The book focuses most on high school students or mid-adolescents as the author calls them. His premise is that adults have started abandoning kids early in life, making the transition from childhood to adulthood a longer and harder process. Teens draw away from adults, not as much out of rebellion, but to cope. The majority of this book is devoted to various aspects of teen life and how it develops and plays out. Chapters such as Peers, School, Family, and Sports hit the nail on the head. And I'll confess I found some shocking stuff in the chapters on Sex, Ethics, and the Party Scene.

I did have some problems with this book. At times, it seemed to go too far into the self-esteem trap. Yes, we need to care for kids, but we also need to acknowledge that not everyone is created equal, something that seemed to be over looked at times. Still, most his examples were of things going too far in the other direction, which makes his points very valid.

Another area was the various ethics discussions. While many of these chapters were eye opening for me, he never addressed ways to teach morals. In fact, he seems to blame adults for problems such as cheating but never blames the kids or discuss how the problem should be addressed.

The last two chapters are a discussion of ways to solve the problem of abandonment, but they seem to be impractical and fall short. City wide meetings for everyone involved with youth? What we really need is a radical shift in our entire culture. Not that I'm exactly sure how to go about doing that, either. So I'm probably little better then he is.

On the whole, this book is an eye-opener about the problems today's high schoolers face. While not perfect, it should be read by anyone who cares about today's teens. Maybe then we can come up with workable solutions to let them know we do care.

Imagine this, taking a sabatical from your career as a seminary professor, and instead of resting or reflecting during your time off, you elect to teach public high school for a year, all with the intent of better understanding the lives and culture of young people.

This choice to teach high school was the basis for Chap Clark's groundbreakign book, "Hurt", which I heartily recommend to anyone connected with middle and high schoolers in America. As a former youth worker and parent of a teenager (and another approaching teenage) I cannot say enough about this book for its clear perception of the state of youth culture.

Prepare to be surprised, shocked, offended, and awakened to the state of our youth. This book will make you mad, sad, scared, and hopeful. Prepare for a paradigm shift. Clark has done careful research of the world of high school students, and his work examines their world of "clusters", or friendship groups, and also includes insightful glimpses of the social world, moral confusion, lonliness, and sexual behavior of our young.

I say "our young" because they really belong to us. This is our country's future, and Clark points out in vividly clear language the pain they face, the confusion they deal with, and the ways we adults have abandoned them.

However, this book is not a complete downer. Each chapter ends with hopeful suggestions for change; ways in which the cultural afflictions young people face can be healed. Hope is abundant, and change is possible.

If you truly care about middle and high schoolers, this book is for you! Make it your book club choice, buy it for your friends, fellow teachers, adminstrators, school board members, and youth workers!

You MUST read this book if you have or work with teenagers! Mr. Clark's insights are fresh and deep. There is no surface content in this book, yet the writing is clear and accessible for anyone. His research and conclusions are of the utmost importance and will change the way you view the teenagers you thought you knew, or reinforce both your greatest hopes and worst fears. I heard Mr. Clark speak at a youth worker conference shortly after reading this book and was moved by his heartfelt concern for the youth of our nation.

Below is the book review I submitted to Group Magazine regarding this book.

This is an academic resource that differs from most in that it describes what the adolescent culture of today looks like through the eyes of those who live it.

Dr. Chap Clark has given those who care for, and work with youth another gem. This resource is for any adult (parents, counselors, teachers, professional youth workers) that has significant interaction with teenagers. Most importantly, this book offers wisdom and insight as to how to connect with teens that are abandoned and hurt. A major premise (and proof) of this book is that these abandoned and hurt teens are not just the "at-risk" youth, but a shockingly large group of students that have been left behind by well intentioned adults and their created programs. You will not find "over-talked" postmodern rhetoric in this book. You will find compelling, hard-hitting data that clearly states the crisis that teenagers are experiencing today. Hurt will be difficult for some to read because it challenges the very landscape its readers have created. Further, it is a deep book and could be challenging for some with limited reading skill level.

This book was recommended to me by my youth pastor, and as a senior pastor I'm glad I've read it. If you thought you understood youth and their lifestyles, then think again. Chap Clark reveals that the youth of today are greatly different than the youth of twenty or even ten years ago. Combining hard sociological data with a Christian compassion for young people, the author enlightens anyone who comes into contact with teenagers. I strongly recommend this book to any parent, pastor, church leader, or other adult who is working with teens. We can't truly minister to younger generations until we've taken the time and effort to understand their unique needs and wants. Clark does an excellent job here of summarizing them both.

The other reviews here are very good. I don't want to simply repeat them. I would like to add that this book is not just for people who work with youth. I am, and that is why I read it, but I'm also a father of 3 kids, and an uncle to 5 more. I am seriously rethinking what it means to be a parent and what it will take to give my kids a fighting chance. I'm also Gen X and a lot of what Clark talks about I experienced also, although my mid-adolescent experience was on a much less intensive level. Much of the abandonment I felt growing up makes more sense now. If you have kids, work with kids, are related to kids ages birth to 28 years old, or if you were a kid anytime between now and the 1970's - This book is worth your time.

This is an outstanding presentation of quality research that has practical application! Youth NEED adults. They need a supportive, safe environment.

Chap Clark does a great job of opening our eyes to the reality of the life of high school students. A change needs to happen in the societal view of how to help youth become healthy, happy, successful adults...and this is a good start!

This book is eye-opening, and if you care about the youth of today, it is heart-opening as well. A generation has been sacrificed at the altar of self without our even realizing it.

Honest and well-written without clinical speak, the author engages the reader in an introspective look at teenagers and oneself in relation to them.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who gives a rip about a generation fending their way thru the intricacies of life today seemingly without a net.

This is simply the best book on adolescents out there. If you are working with adolescents in any capacity, or have one, you should read this book to understand the world that they are living in. Once you understand the cultural situation they are in, you'll be more equipped to care, love, and minister to them. Definitely worth the read.

First half is clinical and somewhat boring, but the examples in the second half are good and show the disconnect in the teen culture.