HE’LL BE OK: Growing Gorgeous Boys into Good Men Celia Lashlie

1. HE’LL BE OK: Growing Gorgeous Boys into Good Men Celia Lashlie • At last, a straight-talking book that takes parents into the mysterious world of boys. • How do you raise boys to men in a world where trouble beckons at every turn? How do you make sure they learn the ‘right’ lessons, stay out of danger, find a path to follow? How do you ensure they’ll be OK? • Author Celia Lashlie has some of the answers. After years working in the prison service, she knows what can happen when boys make the wrong choices. She also knows what it’s like to be a parent - she raised a son on her own and feared for his survival. As a crucial part of the NZ Good Man Project, she talked to 180 classes of boys throughout the country. Her insights into what boys need - and what parents can do to help them - are ground-breaking. • In this honest, no-nonsense and best-selling book, Celia Lashlie reveals what goes on inside the world of boys, and that it is an entirely different world from that of girls. With clarity and insight, she offers parents - especially mothers - practical and reassuring advice on raising their boys to become good, loving, articulate men. • “You wonder where your boy went and who this alien is.” • Learn by watching rather than asking. • Be straightforward in conversations. • Pick your battles; don’t expect a 16 year old to care about folding his clothes, but it’s okay to set reasonable rules for communal living. • Don’t underestimate his intuition. • At 13, he’s still finding his feet in school. By his second year of high school he’s 10 feet tall and bullet-proof. • Stop making his lunch. From Year 9, he should make his own. • Boys need to see the consequences of their actions. • If he’s 14 and considers you the worst mother on earth, you’re doing a good job. • When the affection stops, realise it’s not a personal rejection. • Boys need men in their lives. Single mothers need to find good male role models. • He WILL be okay. He’ll Be OK Rights Available: World Rights Sold: UK (HarperCollins) 234x153mm 224pp Australian Release: March 2007 MARKETING POINTS:Celia’s level-headed, cut to the bone insight into an issue we can no longer afford to ignore has created a hit book in Australia and New Zealand, with worldwidesales of over 120,000 copies to date. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Researcher and social commentator Celia Lashlie is the author of the bestselling The Journey to Prison: Who goes and why. The first woman prison officer in a male prison, she became manager of Christchurch Women’s Prison in 1997 and has since worked in a number of areas linked to at-risk children. Celia is the mother of two adult children. She lives in Wellington. NZ.