Lost Boys and the Moms Who Love Them: Help and Hope for Dealing with Your Wayward Son

If you are the mother of a son who doesn't quite present the "image" of a child from a "good Christian" home, this book is for you. It is not a how-to book. It won't tell you how to keep your boy out of trouble or how to fix him once he's strayed. Instead, there are about fifty short chapters telling the stories of various "lost boys" and how their moms have struggled to cope with the resulting worries, shame and guilt. The book is scary because it shows ways of getting into trouble that my son (thankfully!) hasn't thought of -- drug and alcohol abuse, of course, but also theft, unwed pregnancies, piercings/tattoos, anger issues, ADD/ADHD, mental illness and one tragic incident involving a gun. Some stories have happy endings; some end on a note of hope; some situations simply cannot ever be fixed in this lifeime. All of the stories point to an eternal hope with God and how to trust in Him when there is nothing else to cling to. I'm going to suggest that our church stock this book in its bookstore. I think there are a lot of parents out there stuggling because their sons don't meet the expectations people have of the product of a Christian family. Five stars for a book that tackles this issue honestly.