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Finalist for the Books for a Better Life Award

Books for a Better Life awards recognize and pay tribute to outstanding and influential self-help, motivational, self-improvement or advice books.

Finalist for Lambda Literary Awards

The Lambda Literary Foundation celebrates achievements in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) literature.

According to prevailing wisdom, a boy must be raised with a man in the house; otherwise, he’s bound to be a failure. That same wisdom tells us that mothers left to their own devices will smother their sons and turn them into sissies, and that sons of unmarried mothers are destined to a life of crime.

Peggy Drexler, Ph.D., wasn’t quite convinced that this “common” knowledge was accurate or true, so she embarked on a groundbreaking study that compared boys from female-headed households with boys from traditional mom-and-dad families.

The results were published in a reputable peer-reviewed journal and they were so heartening that Dr. Drexler expanded her study into Raising Boys Without Men, which is an examination of these boys and their amazing mothers.

Rebutting confidently spouted opinions to the contrary, Dr. Drexler's research shows that boys raised without fathers are socially savvy, generous, caring communicators, while still remaining extremely “boyish” -- passionate about sports and adept at rough-housing with friends.

These boys’ maverick moms are pioneering a new form of parenting that rejects social judgments about family structure and gender stereotype, and which stresses the importance of communication, community, and love. These brave women have much to teach us about a better way to raise tomorrow's men

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