hurt by Chap Clark

The title of this post sounds accusatory but it's not - hurt is a book and Chap Clark is it's author.  Dr. Clark has written several books on today's adolescents and is well respected for his knowledge of and passion for today's teenagers. This is the first one of his books that I have read, but it won't be the last.

As a fellow youth worker, I really identified with the observations and statements that Chap made. I think his assessments are dead-on accurate. His underlying idea is that today's adolescents are hurt because they have been steadily and systemically abandoned by society. To deal with the hurt (the pain), adolescents look to soothe their pain by finding acceptance with certain peer groups. In turn, they distance themselves from adults and unconciously contribute to the fragmentation. They kind of give the adults in their lives what they want (the right answers, expected behavior, etc) but they develop a world beneath, a world that most adults don't see.

In the first three chapters Clark develops his idea of abandonment with some history, sociology, and common sense; and it was these three chapters that I enjoyed the most. I've passed the book on to others and said, "Just read the first three!" because they paint the picture so clearly. The following chapters explore the ways the principles of the first three chapters show up in real life.

The last two chapters were a little disappointing because I was hoping for a silver bullet. But they were good echoes of my own convictions and it's always nice to have your own beliefs affirmed by an expert.

If you work with youth or simply want to learn more about today's adolescents, check out the first three chapters of hurt. You'll probably end up reading the rest of it.