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Thrive: How the Science of the Adolescent Brain Helps Us Imagine a Better Future for All Children
A bold new argument for harnessing brain science to help young people realize their full potential, from the noted business and foundation leader
“In the last decade, a growing body of longitudinal neuroimaging research has demonstrated that adolescence is a period of continued brain growth and change, challenging longstanding assumptions that the brain was largely finished maturing by puberty.” —National Institutes of Health
Breakthroughs in adolescent brain science have made it clear that young people need stable relationships, meaningful opportunities and strong support to become thriving adults. Yet far too many grow up without access to these essentials. Whether it’s a young person trying to finish school and secure their first job, navigating the trauma of losing loved ones to violence or seeking connection after being placed in foster care, their experiences reveal how deeply our public systems are falling short—and how urgently we must act.
A major new book for parents, local leaders, and policymakers alike, Thrive argues that how we understand and address the unequal experiences of adolescence holds the key to ensuring that all children have an equal chance of becoming successful adults. Drawing on her deep experience working in business and alongside youth, nonprofit and public system leaders as head of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, author Lisa M. Lawson offers a powerful and accessible look at what the science of adolescent development tells us—and what it demands of us. With clarity and purpose, she reveals how our policies and practices too often fail young people, and how we can do better by creating the connections, opportunities and support they need to reach their full potential.
Arguing that we all have a shared stake in helping young people navigate the road to adulthood, Lawson lays out the ways that public systems, nonprofits, businesses and families can draw lessons from science—and take steps to help all young people thrive.
“In the last decade, a growing body of longitudinal neuroimaging research has demonstrated that adolescence is a period of continued brain growth and change, challenging longstanding assumptions that the brain was largely finished maturing by puberty.” —National Institutes of Health
Breakthroughs in adolescent brain science have made it clear that young people need stable relationships, meaningful opportunities and strong support to become thriving adults. Yet far too many grow up without access to these essentials. Whether it’s a young person trying to finish school and secure their first job, navigating the trauma of losing loved ones to violence or seeking connection after being placed in foster care, their experiences reveal how deeply our public systems are falling short—and how urgently we must act.
A major new book for parents, local leaders, and policymakers alike, Thrive argues that how we understand and address the unequal experiences of adolescence holds the key to ensuring that all children have an equal chance of becoming successful adults. Drawing on her deep experience working in business and alongside youth, nonprofit and public system leaders as head of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, author Lisa M. Lawson offers a powerful and accessible look at what the science of adolescent development tells us—and what it demands of us. With clarity and purpose, she reveals how our policies and practices too often fail young people, and how we can do better by creating the connections, opportunities and support they need to reach their full potential.
Arguing that we all have a shared stake in helping young people navigate the road to adulthood, Lawson lays out the ways that public systems, nonprofits, businesses and families can draw lessons from science—and take steps to help all young people thrive.
- GenresNonfiction
232 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 16, 2025
27 people are currently reading
210 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 10, 2025
Biggest takeaway: treating adolescence as you do early childhood from a developmental perspective.
January 5, 2026
3.5/5 - To me, it isn’t radical that adolescence is a critical intervention and life point. I have been working with adolescent/youth development programming for almost 4 years, so a lot of this information familiar to me. However, I also see many people be afraid of working with teens/adolescents/young adults because they seem like a lost cause because they’re after the early childhood development period. This book is for that crowd who needs to see how their work translates and continues past elementary school.
I appreciated the chapter about the value of youth leadership in supporting youth to thrive, and I wish there was more emphasis on that aspect. It is genuinely a big gap in adolescent programming and is SO important. I would’ve appreciated more discussion about gaps like this and integration with the science of adolescent development. The challenges they face were well laid out, as were the discussions about how we need more widespread and integrated programming, but I wish there was more connecting parts 1 and 3.
Overall, I felt that there was a lot of valuable information for individuals who don’t work in social work or public health. As someone who specifically works in public health, I was waiting for the social determinants of health to be acknowledged. (All of the pieces were laid out!!)
I appreciated the chapter about the value of youth leadership in supporting youth to thrive, and I wish there was more emphasis on that aspect. It is genuinely a big gap in adolescent programming and is SO important. I would’ve appreciated more discussion about gaps like this and integration with the science of adolescent development. The challenges they face were well laid out, as were the discussions about how we need more widespread and integrated programming, but I wish there was more connecting parts 1 and 3.
Overall, I felt that there was a lot of valuable information for individuals who don’t work in social work or public health. As someone who specifically works in public health, I was waiting for the social determinants of health to be acknowledged. (All of the pieces were laid out!!)
January 15, 2026
3.5. The writing is just fine, the science is just fine, everything is just… fine. I wish it had talked more about schools specifically, and there is very little actual brain science in here for what it promises—it claims that the ages of 15-24 are just as vital in terms of brain milestones as the ages of 0-3, but very few milestones are delineated by age. It reads mostly like a nonprofit call to action during a fundraiser, which is… fine.
I did like a couple of stories highlighted about what different group are doing across the country, like the PBIS-inspired probation.
I did like a couple of stories highlighted about what different group are doing across the country, like the PBIS-inspired probation.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews