Reaching Up for Manhood: Transforming the Lives of Boys in America

Geoffrey Canada explores, through passionately observed storytelling, what we are truly telling our boys about manhood. He lays out the little-understood and intertwined history of drugs and marketing to inner-city boys, a history that has led to consumption levels of forties and blunts that are excessive beyond excuse. Canada takes a hard look at the issues of too-early sex and, through a pointed story of his own sexual education on the streets, reminds us that the combination of the same old urges with new cultural forces and mores has resulted in a volatile sexual terrain for boys. He writes indelibly of the young boy he once was, one desperately needing a father’s love, and of the crucial issues—fatherhood, mentors, self-esteem, faith, healing, and more—that must be negotiated as boys reach up for manhood. A moving and revelatory report by a dedicated father and gifted child advocate.