One of my interests is successful youth development and I see reading as an important skill and worthwhile habit to accomplish this. As 17th C. Irish writer and playwright, Richard Steele, observed, “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body” and Mark Twain, 19th C. American writer, lecturer and publisher, noted, “A person who won’t read has no advantage over one who can’t read.” These are powerful truths.

As an educator (MA and PhD), I see the need for children, teens, and younger and older adults to invest time in reading. It is through reading that we gain knowledge, develop our critical thinking skills more effectively, learn to communicate clearly with others, and become competent in resolving conflicts before they become even more contentious.

Today, there is much talk about some young people being impulsive and not being able to control their anger. Consequently, they often find themselves in difficult situations where violence may be perceived as their only way of coping. Mental health problems could also become apparent.

However, young people, by thinking ahead of time about the problems that they could face, are better able to develop skills that would help them strategically avoid those ‘minefields’ that could derail their otherwise positive paths to success.

We can all try to do our small part in promoting mental health and helping our young people to respond in well considered and measured terms to difficult situations that may arise for them.

This is my small part. Successful Youth Living is a series of books covering a wide range of issues pertinent to young people. I have written on subjects that I have learned about from my studies, and from experience in working with, and speaking to, young people and parents from a variety of backgrounds and circumstances. Also, for roughly 15 years, I have done a weekly column in a community magazine on these same issues and have had the opportunity to speak to many individuals on these subjects.

I only ask for young people and others involved in their lives to read these books and discuss the subjects among themselves.  Check out the volumes below.