This book is for anyone who works with youth. Dean Borgman paints a vivid picture of life for those teens who are confronted by insecurity, violence, and substance abuse. By hearing these stories, youth workers and parents can understand and come alongside the troubled youth they seek to minister to. Borgman cautions this is no easy task and offers no simple solutions, but he shows there is hope.

Look under almost any stone in Youth Ministry and you will find that Dean Borgman has already been there. This is a refreshing, remarkable book that looks beneath the programmatic planning to the issues affecting the lives of troubled teens. Dean focuses on the hard-to-reach kids, those who fall through the cracks all too easily, because they are a worry, an inconvenience and a conundrum. His insatiable curiosities about kids along with his tender Christ-centered heart are evident in this hopeful, informative book. This is a book I will use in my classes. It invites the heart and mind to delve into the dark world of troubled kids and emerge with HOPE! The references are phenomenal!
—William P. Quigley, Instructor of Youth Ministry, Malone College