Growing Up
Limiting Adolescence in a World Desperate for Adults
by Frank C. Strasburger

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How do we become adults? Is it by moving out of our parents’ house? Earning an independent income? Getting married? Having children? Buying a house? Those are the benchmarks most of us use, but Growing Up suggests that maturity is more about qualities of character. Through the poignant stories of nearly half a century working with young people as a teacher, school administrator, high school and college chaplain, parish priest, and father of three, Frank Strasburger shares the encouraging news that the pace and power with which we become adults is largely within our control. Chapter by chapter, he unfolds the real process of growing up: facing down the fear of failure, wrestling honestly with identity and relationship, finding passion, overcoming illusions of power, discovering faith, and discerning a sense of mission. Strasburger’s bottom line: it is in serving others that we become the people we’re meant to be.

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"This captivating book is a wise and moving reflection on what it means to grow up, for individuals and for our society." --Tom Allen, President and CEO, Association of American Publishers and former member of Congress “Growing Up demonstrates heartfelt empathy for those trapped in the limbo of prolonged adolescence and a sophisticated understanding of the social forces that have brought it about. But, the real contribution of the book is to offer honest and hardheaded advice about what it takes to overcome those forces and move on with one’s life – both as it is and as it can be.” --David B. Edwards, Professor of Social Sciences and former Associate Dean, Williams College "Growing Up has completely changed the way I look at my education, my career, my spirituality, and my relationship with others. Here, finally, is a book about finding our way in life that doesn’t get lost in statistics, but instead speaks in life’s most honest and enlightening terms: our own stories."                                   --Sam Hanson, Bowdoin College '11

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Frank Strasburger has devoted most of his 45-year career as a teacher and priest to young people. After teaching at some of the nation’s top independent schools, he was the Episcopal Chaplain at Princeton University for more than a decade. He is cofounder and emeritus president of Princeton in Africa, a leader in providing recent college graduates year-long service opportunities all over Africa. Now retired, Strasburger teaches writing to high school seniors, is a mentor in a program for troubled teens, and serves on a number of nonprofit boards. The father of three grown children, he lives with his wife Carrie on the coast of Maine.

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Contributors

Author

Frank C. Strasburger

Cover photo by

Dylan Burrill

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