Allan Hugh Cole Jr.

Drawing on research and case studies, three pastoral care experts argue that one of the primary contexts in which the faith formation of teenage boys takes place is in their relationships with other adolescent males. Written by the authors of Losers, Loners, and Rebels: The Spiritual Struggles of Boys, this book is an important resource for anyone interested in helping adolescent males navigate years often marked by isolation and loneliness to develop a meaningful spiritual identity.

Allan Cole Jr. offers insights on the topic of prayer, explaining prayer and describing its spiritual and physical effects. This book is for those who are not comfortable with prayer or who have reached an impasse in their prayer lives. Cole demonstrates different kinds of prayer, helps the reader find ways to pray in various situations, and provides sample prayers. The volume includes questions for reflection at the end of each chapter.

In this brief book Allan Hugh Cole explains the process of grief and what loss can do to us, identifies ways of coping, and reminds us of the hope that we can find in mourning. Ultimately, Cole offers a plan of "good mourning"--a way to work through the loss and rebuild life with new strength. Cole describes what it takes to be engaged in good mourning instead of endless suffering and demonstrates how faith and prayer can be practical tools in rebuilding life after loss.

The early years of adolescence are a tumultuous time, full of challenges and opportunities that can shape one's whole life. In recent years several books have analyzed this period of life for girls, but this is the first book that investigates the interior life of boys as they develop their sense of self and begin the spiritual journey that will carry them throughout their lives. The authors contend that adolescent boys often experience themselves at various times as losers, loners, and rebels. As self-defined losers, boys begin to realize self-awareness; as loners they begin to understand their own relatedness to the larger world; as rebels they gain a sense of self-sufficiency. Through these common experiences of life, boys gain self-awareness, self-transcendence, and self-sufficiency, concepts that take root in the spirituality that will last their lifetime.