Josh’s father is to Josh at that moment what Willy Loman was to Biff, what David Ingles was to Chad. Over the years, countless troubled Joshes and Chads have crossed into my office—slouching, “underachieving” boys whose parents are at their wits’ end. I often frame them in my mind as little protesters, sit-down strikers refusing to march off into the state of alienation we call manhood. If the choice is between success and connection, many boys simply refuse to play. We usually call these boys delinquents.
