To my wife, Barbi, for being such a supportive and loving partner, as together we parent our teens;

To Ricky and Benny Townsend, for being such great kids, especially during these adolescent years;

To Scott Bolinder, publisher at Zondervan, for his support for, and belief in, the importance of the subject;

To my editor Sandy Vander Zicht, for her vision for this book’s creation and her love for the written word;

To my editor Liz Heaney, for her diligence and care in the process of making a book readable;

To my agent, Sealy Yates, and his associate, Jeana Ledbetter, for their steadfast wisdom and protection of the writing process;

To my friends who have parented teens and provided me with lots of helpful information and stories: Roger and Diane Braff, Jim Burns, Cindy Canale, Cathy Evangelatos, Belinda Falk, Eric and Debbie Heard, Mark Holt, Jim Liebelt, Tom and Martha McCall, Dr. Paul Meier, Dr. Jerry Reddix, Ted and Jen Trubenbach, Bob Whiton;

To my adolescent specialist friends who reviewed chapters and made helpful comments: Dr. John Barrett, Dr. Tom Okamoto, and Brett Veltman;

To Dr. Jim Pugh, for his wisdom and experience in the fields of adolescents and of families;

To the Junior High Ministry of Mariners Church in Irvine, California, especially Chris Lagerlof, Ryan Schulte, Michael Siebert, Sabrina Garcia, whose tenures with the junior high ministry at Mariners Church have helped so many kids, including mine, to find God, growth, and healthy relationships;

To the junior high small groups guys: Nate Barrett, Josh Bennar, Monty Buchanan, Zak Fuentes, Josh Hervey, Renny Martinez, and Travis Waddell, for being great kids and followers of God;

To my friend and writing partner, Dr. Henry Cloud, for his diligence and depth of thought in dealing with parenting and growth issues;

And a special thanks to my assistant, Janet Williams, who glues my work universe together, day after day, with care and good humor.