Whatever happened to that chatty little boy brimming with quirky facts and interminable accounts of his adventures? When did your son grow into the sullen stranger in your house who communicates through shrugs and one-word answers? Is this just part of growing up or is it a sign that something is wrong? In Why Boys Don't Talk--and Why It Matters, Susan Morris Shaffer and Linda Perlman Gordon draw on their professional and personal experiences to provide answers to those common questions.

You'll discover why adolescent boys often feel the need to protect themselves behind a wall of silence and why it's important to your son's emotional health to break through that wall. Most important, you'll gain the knowledge and tools you need to (1) recognize and understand the subtle ways boys communicate connection, (2) reopen the lines of communication with your adolescent son, (3) help him learn to express his feelings and experience a range of normal emotion, and (4) maintain strong emotional bonds with your son in order to support his positive growth and development. The authors also address the particular concerns facing boys of color in an entirely separate chapter.

I highly recommended it.

From Laura Sessions Stepp, author of Our Last Best Shot: Guiding Our Children Through Early Adolescence-
“”Shaffer and Gordon shed light on the cultural reasons boys frequently don’t talk and then show how to encourage conversation and when to respect the necessary silences.”

From Michael A. Messner, Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies, University of Southern California-
“Well-grounded in recent research on the problems, pitfalls, and possibilities in contemporary boys’ lives. As the father of two sons, this book speaks to me.”

From Michael Kimmel, Professor of Sociology, SUNY Stony Brook-
"This wise and warm book encourages mothers not to let their sons become unemotional robots but instead to stay connected.”