Leaving Boyhood Behind: Reclaiming the Gift of Manhood and Traditional Rites of Passage

“When I was a child,” Saint Paul writes, “I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways” (1 Cor 13:11). This distinction, and the transition from boyhood to manhood, does not seem as easy for us today. Our society, with its increasingly grotesque masculine identity crisis, cannot define “the things of a man.” In this revised and expanded edition, author Jason Craig, cofounder of Fraternus, a Catholic mentoring program for boys, demonstrates how we can actually do something to address this crisis. Leaving Boyhood Behind resets our understanding of the gift of manhood and the wisdom of traditional rites of passage. Men have what it takes to change the tide of confusion, insecurity, and immaturity. Especially in the Church, we have everything we need for true and authentic masculinity, because we have the true man and true God, Jesus Christ. This book is a call to action. You can understand these principles and enact the simple ideas in your own life in ways that are natural and effective.