Warrior Rising: How Four Men Helped a Boy on His Journey to Manhood

by MaryAnne Howland

An eye-opening look at one mother's determination to provide positive male role models for her son, and the power of great mentoring to change lives.

When MaryAnne Howland's son was turning thirteen she organized a Black Mitzvah rite of passage celebration for him. Max is one of the one-in-three children in America being raised without a father in the home. Among African-Americans, that number is reported to be as high as 72 percent. To help fill the father-shaped hole in Max's life as he transitioned from boyhood to manhood, MaryAnne invited four men from different corners of her life --an engineer, a philanthropist, a publisher, and a financial planner--to become Max's mentors.

Max has faced many challenges. As a boy without a consistent father figure in his life, as an African-American male in a time when race relations in this country continue to be fraught, and also because Max was born premature and as a result has cerebral palsy, he has had to be a true warrior. On the brink of manhood, his mother wanted to give him the benefit of men who could answer some of the questions she felt that she, as a woman, might not be able to answer. Through his adolescence, Max's mentors have shared valuable insights with him about what it means to be a good man in the face of life's challenges. These lessons, recounted in this book, will serve as a powerful roadmap for anyone wishing to support boys as they approach manhood.

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 28, 2020

About the author

First and foremost, MaryAnne Howland is a proud mother and advocate for persons with disabilities. She is a communications specialist and the owner of a portfolio of social enterprises that fan the mission of equity, inclusion and sustainability. They include Ibis Communications, Global Diversity Leadership Exchange, and THIS!, a new fashion line for all body types. In pursuit of advancing understanding of cultures and our common values, she has also worked as a travel writer/researcher for Fielding’s, Open Roads, and Black Enterprise Magazine. A servant leader, she sits on the board of the American Sustainable Business Council based in Washington, DC. With this book, MaryAnne has founded blackmitzvah.org to fuel the movement to traditionalize rites of passage for boys and girls, and to inspire a community dialogue about parenting and mentorship. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, MaryAnne is a graduate of Boston University School of Communication, an Upper West Side Manhattan expat, and has spent her entire career writing for corporate America until cajoled to rediscover her own voice to write her first book, Warrior Rising: How Four Men Helped a Boy on His Journey to Manhood. As author, consultant, idea aggregator, and life enthusiast, she serves the world as a global citizen from the Upper East Side of Nashville, Tennessee.

Reviews

[Audiobook Accomplice (Gillian) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was looking for a book on strong men guiding a boy into young manhood; got instead a mom learning to let go…
My Full Review

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5. Great concept and great reading of the audiobook. It went on a bit longer than I would have liked