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 WHAT
IT TAKES TO
PULL ME THROUGH
By David L. Marcus
TeenBook@hotmail.com
Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA: 2005
ISBN: 0618145451
Reviewed by: Larry
Stednitz, PhD
Two-days ago, I started reading David L. Marcus's book, What
it Takes To Pull Me Through. I read this brilliant book
on troubled teens at every opportunity. Marcus is a Pulitzer
Prize winning journalist who immersed himself for two full
years into Swift River Academy, an emotional growth curriculum
school located in western Massachusetts. Every consultant,
every parent with a child in an emotional growth school, and
every parent considering the placement of their child into
an emotional growth school, should read this book.
For years, I have struggled to describe the world of emotional
growth schools accurately to parents and professionals. At
times, I felt I was successful, but more often than not, I
fell short of capturing the essence of these programs. The
nature and complexities of emotional growth schools makes
it an illusive target that is not easily described. This book
provides a compelling behind the scenes glimpse of an emotional
growth school, and into the world of the students and their
parents.
Marcus takes the reader on a journey from beginning to end
through the eyes and experience of four students and their
families. Throughout this journey, Marcus captures the reader's
attention with stories that address corporate ownership, the
vast expansion of this industry, and the various struggles
schools go through when working with these complex and troubled
teens. It genuinely touches on the tensions felt by most teenagers,
and the changes that have effected youth over the years in
our society.
This book is a must read. Ultimately, it is an honest and
accurate accounting of not only Swift River Academy, but with
varying differences, all emotional growth schools in the country.
The richness of these schools provides hope for teenagers
and their families. The book explores this hope without ignoring
the complexities and problems inherent in our homes, communities,
schools and families.
About the Author:
[Dave Marcus is an honors graduate from Brown University,
and a 1995-96 Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. He also
studied at the University of the Andes in Bogotá, and
shared the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting
for writing a series about violence against women around the
world. He was a 'writer in residence' at the Tuck School of
Dartmouth College, lectured at Columbia University's Graduate
School of Journalism, was an Educational Correspondent for
US News & World Report, and a Research Associate at Smith
College. After more than twenty years in journalism, Marcus
has recently shifted his career from writer to teacher. www.DaveMarcus.com]
Copyright © 2005, Woodbury
Reports, Inc. (This article may be reproduced without prior
approval if the copyright notice and proper publication and
author attribution accompanies the copy.)
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