When Healing Looks Like Getting Worse

Why the First Weeks Are the Hardest—and Why That’s Actually Good I tell every parent the same thing before their son begins the Quest Project: “It’s going to get worse before it gets better.” They nod. They think they understand. Then Week 3 hits and they call me in a panic. “He was doing okay…

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What Your Son Needs From His Mother

And What He Needs You to Stop Doing This is going to be uncomfortable. I’m going to ask you to do something that goes against every instinct you have as a mother: step back. Not out of his life. Not out of his heart. But out of the space between your son and his pain.…

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What Teachers See That Parents Miss

The Classroom Window Into Your Son’s Wound The email always starts the same way. “We’re concerned about your son’s behavior.” And the parent’s reaction is almost always the same: defensiveness, confusion, or dread. Because the boy they see at home—even the difficult version—doesn’t seem like the boy the teacher is describing. Or worse: the boy…

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A Letter to the Father Who Knows He’s Failing

You’re Not Too Late Dear Dad, I know you’re reading this at midnight. Or during your lunch break. Or in the parking lot before you walk into the house, trying to figure out how to be different tonight than you were last night. I know because I’ve sat across from hundreds of men who looked…

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