Our Boys Speak: Adolescent Boys Write about Their Inner Lives [Paperback]

John Nikkah (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2000

John Nikkah asked one simple question: What do the boys think? From the best-selling Ophelia Speaks to the "girl power" movement, teenage girls are speaking their minds and having their due. But what about the boys? Aside from the works of a few academics, there seems to be no outlet in today's media for the true voices of teen-age boys. Until now.

John contacted over 5,000 schools across the country looking for the voices of America's boys. What are their goals, their fears, their hopes, their dreams? What are their lives really like as they stand on the verge of manhood? Our Boys Speak takes the best of hundreds of entries from boys aged 12-18 from varied racial, economic, religious, and regional backgrounds. The essays, poems, diary entries and stories cover topics ranging from sex and dating, sports, religion, depression, violence, video games, family, and just about everything in between. And narrating the essays is John Nikkah, who comes to new understandings about his own teenage years through the raw voices he encounters. This is a book for parents, for teens, for educators and for the heart.

Our Boys Speak is just that. It is our sons, our friends, our neighbors, our families, ourselves. Sometimes painful, sometimes joyful, Our Boys Speak is most of all truthful and real.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Just eight years out of high school, clinical psychology graduate student Nikkah knew from personal experience the falsehood of the clich? that young boys who do not willingly talk about themselves have very little going on in their minds and their lives. So he contacted 5000 schools across the country, asking boys to write down their thoughts and experiences, in poems, stories or autobiographical essays. He presents the results of his search in thematic chapters: "Sharing a Room" deals with siblings; "School Ties" concerns peer pressure and cliques; "Song of Sorrow" addresses depression; and "Toy Soldiers" looks at school violence. Nikkah opens each chapter with an essay in which he compares his own experiences to those of the young men who sent him their writings. Intriguingly, his subjects' pieces display both a silent adolescent maturity and the sort of vulnerability that can lurk beneath manly bravado. Felix Flores bares his grief at losing a friend; Chris Chambers-Jupo recalls hearing his best male friend admit that he'd been raped eight years earlier. Boys looking for a perfect romantic love confess to the heartbreak of being "dumped." And many contributors admit that they require a good cry from time to time. On display are boys who pay attention to and learn from their experiences. Not a how-to guide for raising adolescent boys, this is instead an extremely revealing look at the mind and matter of young men. Agent, Giles Anderson. (Aug.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Teenage boys find their voice in this collection of writings on socially relevant issues ranging from sex and sports to premature death, teenage "angst," and drug/alcohol use. The author, a graduate student in clinical psychology (New Sch. for Social Research), chose a sample from 600 responses to 5000 letters he wrote asking for submissions. Each chapter begins with the author's recollections of a topic, which slide seamlessly into the boys' own prose and poetry. The selections are fairly short, predictably uneven in quality, and skewed to the middle-class experience. However, most suggest a wider emotional range and depth than is typically ascribed to young men barely out of their "wonder years." Though not as policy-oriented or authoritative as James Garbarino's Lost Boys: Why Our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them (Free Pr., 1999), this book could be valuable in public and school libraries for stimulating discussion among teenage boys as well as a tool for understanding the mindset of this demographic group, which has been responsible for remarkable acts of violence in recent years.DAntoinette Brinkman, SW Indiana Mental Health Ctr. Lib., Evansville
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 220 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (January 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312262809
• ISBN-13: 978-0312262808
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #100,067 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #6 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Health, Mind & Body > Psychology & Counseling > Adolescent Psychology
  • #6 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Parenting & Families > Parenting > Teenagers
  • #82 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Sociology > General

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good for parents, June 10, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Our Boys Speak: Adolescent Boys Write about Their Inner Lives (Paperback)

As a father to two teenage boys, I got this book to help me understand them. And it did. I read the book in less than a week and was very moved by the letters I read. It also helped open up communication with my kids. I gave it to them after I read and we talked about it afterward. I strongly recommend it to parents.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Read, June 13, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Our Boys Speak: Adolescent Boys Write about Their Inner Lives (Paperback)

This was incredibly pentetrating look into the minds and soul of young men. Putting this book down was almost impossible. Reading it, I was on the verge of tears many times. This book really shed light on what growing up must feel like in this day and age. I have to say that my heart goes out to all of the boys featured in the book. I applaud the young men for having the courage to speak out.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Our Boys Speak, June 29, 2007

By 

A. Myers (Syracuse, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Our Boys Speak: Adolescent Boys Write about Their Inner Lives (Paperback)

Overall I found the stories relayed by the boys to be touching and sweet. The book is worth reading whether you are a parent or educator. I gave the book three stars instead of five because I found the introductions to the various chapters to be poorly written and trite, not to mention repetative. All in all I think the insight the book provides into the minds of boys outweighs the boring editorials at the beginning of each chapter by the author.