Boy into Man: A Fathers' Guide to Initiation of Teenage Sons

Most initiations of teenage boys are carried out by institutions: Boy Scouts, synagogues, churches, etc. BOY INTO MAN shows how parents can create & carry out coming-of-age ceremonies for their sons of a more personal, meaningful kind. The rite of passage described (with text & photos included) is based on one the author & fellow dads carried out over a weekend in the Sierra foothills. The author, the San Francisco Chronicle's theater critic from 1974-1990, used theatrical techniques & rituals from a wide variety of cultures to create "a template of what modern day rites of passage can be...a particularly innovative coming-of-age ceremony," according to Gordon Clay, Director of the National Men's Resource Center. As it turns out, doing a ceremony like the one described in BOY INTO MAN initiates everyone: boys, fathers & mothers. Also included are chapters on the mothers' ritual, storytelling, the boys' experiences in the woods & helpful hints for fathers who might want to try something similar. (ISBN 0-9632636-0-9). Transformation Press, 197 Bonview Street, Box R, San Francisco, CA 94110. Website: www.transformation.hypermart.net.Bernard Weiner is the author of 'Boy into Man: A Fathers' Guide to Initiation of Teenage Sons' with ISBN 9780963263605 and ISBN 0963263609.