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Leaving Boyhood Behind: Reclaiming Catholic Brotherhood
What makes a man?
This is a question many men in our society today do not feel equipped to answer, because they were never initiated into manhood themselves. They do not know how to pass on authentic manliness to their sons, so boys get stuck in unending adolescence. Everyone suffers from the resulting crisis of male immaturity, and we see its effects everywhere in our society.
Leaving Boyhood Behind shows how we can actually do something to address this crisis. Author Jason Craig, cofounder of Fraternus, a Catholic mentoring program for boys, walks through each stage of initiation into manhood, helping readers
• What rites of passage are and why they are necessary for men
• Christ’s own rites of passage and initiation
• What it means for a young man to put away childhood
• The importance of belonging vs. isolation in the life of men
• The important role both mothers and fathers place in initiation
• Discipline and the masculine identity
• Living the ultimate rite of passage, and much more
“This book is an invaluable resource for all Catholics who care about the intellectual, physical, and spiritual development of the next generation of men.” — Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers, author of Behold the A Catholic Vision of Male Spirituality
This is a question many men in our society today do not feel equipped to answer, because they were never initiated into manhood themselves. They do not know how to pass on authentic manliness to their sons, so boys get stuck in unending adolescence. Everyone suffers from the resulting crisis of male immaturity, and we see its effects everywhere in our society.
Leaving Boyhood Behind shows how we can actually do something to address this crisis. Author Jason Craig, cofounder of Fraternus, a Catholic mentoring program for boys, walks through each stage of initiation into manhood, helping readers
• What rites of passage are and why they are necessary for men
• Christ’s own rites of passage and initiation
• What it means for a young man to put away childhood
• The importance of belonging vs. isolation in the life of men
• The important role both mothers and fathers place in initiation
• Discipline and the masculine identity
• Living the ultimate rite of passage, and much more
“This book is an invaluable resource for all Catholics who care about the intellectual, physical, and spiritual development of the next generation of men.” — Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers, author of Behold the A Catholic Vision of Male Spirituality
208 pages, Paperback
Published March 19, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 21, 2025
A must read for men living in America. It shed a lot of light on healing our culture. Would recommend.
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July 27, 2024In my experiences working with youth in both secular and religious environments (resident assistant, youth group, Prayer and Action, teaching), it’s become a running joke – with a good amount of truth to it – that I can connect with the teenage boys in unique and deep ways. I’m grateful for this book, for opening my eyes on how to call them into higher and greater things, all for the glory of God.
July 30, 2025
The book I didn’t know I needed
June 21, 2022
This short book had a very practical manner of not only explaining the heart of boys and men but also how to lead boys into manhood. I highly recommend this for parents, teens, people who work with young men, or anyone interested. This would be paired well with “Wild at Heart” by John Eldredge or “Behold the Man” by Deacon Burke.
January 31, 2023
Read this at the suggestion of a family member, primarily to discuss with him, not really because I was interested in this particular book. And after reading, I'm glad to be done. I'll summarize the good and the bad from my perspective.
The good:
1. His critique of our culture and the perpetual adolescence of men is spot on and is a huge problem.
2. His instincts that men need to have relationships with each other and within the church are good.
3. He has good things to say about separation from an old way of life, though I do have some theological disagreements with him on the details of that.
The bad:
1. I am not a Catholic and therefore had strong disagreements with the theology in this book (views on Mary, saints, baptism, etc.). I won't dwell on this but would be remiss not to mention it.
2. Poor use of Scripture. He spent SO MICH TIME quoting catholic leaders, other writers, ancient cultures, etc. He did not use scripture as much as he could have and when he did, it was more eisegesis than exegesis.
3. He simply never made a clear statement of what he meant by terms such as "masculinity," "manhood," "maturity," etc. You can glean his meaning throughout the book, but given the topic, this should have been chapter 1.
4. His primary thrust that rites of passage are required misses the mark. If anything, rites of passage are more a symptom of a particular way of thinking about manhood and maturity. I don't think the rite itself matters nearly as much as he claims. I suspect this comes out of his Catholic thinking about tradition and ritual.
The good:
1. His critique of our culture and the perpetual adolescence of men is spot on and is a huge problem.
2. His instincts that men need to have relationships with each other and within the church are good.
3. He has good things to say about separation from an old way of life, though I do have some theological disagreements with him on the details of that.
The bad:
1. I am not a Catholic and therefore had strong disagreements with the theology in this book (views on Mary, saints, baptism, etc.). I won't dwell on this but would be remiss not to mention it.
2. Poor use of Scripture. He spent SO MICH TIME quoting catholic leaders, other writers, ancient cultures, etc. He did not use scripture as much as he could have and when he did, it was more eisegesis than exegesis.
3. He simply never made a clear statement of what he meant by terms such as "masculinity," "manhood," "maturity," etc. You can glean his meaning throughout the book, but given the topic, this should have been chapter 1.
4. His primary thrust that rites of passage are required misses the mark. If anything, rites of passage are more a symptom of a particular way of thinking about manhood and maturity. I don't think the rite itself matters nearly as much as he claims. I suspect this comes out of his Catholic thinking about tradition and ritual.
June 19, 2019
Craig offers insightful counters to the discipleship emphasis of much current Church literature. We are not just disciples, but we became members of the family of God through baptism. We are brothers and sisters, not just fellow followers of Jesus. He emphasizes the role of men as leaders of the family and ways for them to take on this role. Interesting read.
January 6, 2025
I loved this book! As a new mom to a son, this book helped me think about the values, areas of life, and experiences that I hope to instill in my son and allow him to have as he grows. 10/10 recommend to anybody, especially parents of a son.
May 5, 2019
Such a beautiful book! This is one that I will continue coming back to.
July 1, 2019
Strongly recommend for anyone who has sons or works with them.
May 29, 2025
Good, not great summation of problems with modern transition from boy to man.
October 24, 2025
5 star - recommended reading, thoughtful and reflective on inner self and others. enlightening.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews