What it Takes to Get Me Through



Comments

"This should be required reading for all parents of teenagers. Yet,
'required reading' implies boring reading. And What It Takes to Pull
Me Through
is fascinating. More than simply a cautionary tale, this
extremely well-written book provides useful insight and a welcome dose
of hope. It's the closest thing you'll find to a road map for raising
adolescents - and keeping them safe."
- Augusten Burroughs, author of Running With Scissors and Dry



"David L. Marcus does what nonfiction writers do when they're at their very
best – get inside of the skin of a character and feel everything. These
kids breathe fire and hope, break your heart and heal it, and then show how
teenagers can wander through the darkest woods toward sunlight. In all, a
profoundly moving journey."
- Ron Suskind, author of A Hope In The Unseen and The Price of Loyalty



"One of the most revealing insights in this wonderful book is how familiar
these troubled kids are to us. It shows just how thin the line is between
the world of the normal adolescent and those who are fighting for their
emotional health."
- Daniel J. Kindlon, Ph.D., author of Tough Times, Good Children and
co-author of Raising Cain



"One of the most revealing insights in this wonderful book is how familiar
these troubled kids are to us. It shows just how thin the line is between
the world of the normal adolescent and those who are fighting for their
emotional health."
- Madeleine Blais, author of In These Girls, Hope Is A Muscle



"By combining no-limits reporting with a wide-open heart, David Marcus
allows us to witness something of a miracle: a group of teenagers in the
harrowing and hopeful process of finding out who they are."
- George Colt, author of The Big House



"Compelling, empathetic and hopeful, What It Takes to Pull Me Through is
for parents and teens alike. It will be of special use to families
experiencing emotional trauma or fracture, offering both solace and a road
map of survival that goes far beyond self-help."
- Alissa Quart, author of Branded: The Buying and Selling of Teenagers



"What Marcus uncovers is startling, heartbreaking, and finally redemptive.
This book reads like a thriller. A thriller about adolescence, about how
we love and how we lose each other and what it takes to help a child find
her way home."
- Alison Smith, author of Name All the Animals



"Amid the pain and sadness that suffuse these pages, there is more wisdom
and guidance about childrearing than an entire shelf of how-to self-help
books combined. This is journalism at its best: unflinching, meticulous,
gripping, true."
- Sue Halpern, author of The Book pf Hard Things



"An extraordinary and poignant journey into the lives and inner worlds of
troubled adolescents. A compelling, intimate account of developmental
breakdown and the road to recovery."
- Elizabeth Aries, Ph.D., Amherst College, Editor, Adolescent Behavior



“I’m glad he’s finished writing. He’s not so crabby anymore.”
- B. Marcus, age eight, Author of “My Bronx Zoo Trip.”



“His book is about cool kids at a school that has Popsicles. I love them –
the kids, I mean. The Popsicles are good, too.”
- T. Marcus, age five

blog

  • Sunday, June 27, 2010 - 20:56

    The paperback of the book, out now, has practical pointers for college applicants.

    It also has Smitty's list of "40 Overlooked Gems" - colleges that more students should consider.

    Here's Smitty's comment on one of those colleges:

    p...
  • Wednesday, April 21, 2010 - 22:28

    Some readers asked about my piece on the quadruplets from Long Island's Mele family. Here's my Newsday follow-up about the decision by the two girls and two boys to attend the same college:

    a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/education/...

  • Saturday, March 13, 2010 - 14:36

    Here’ an unusual look at the admissions process of a state university. It ran on Sunday March 6 in Newsday.
    (Access for most of our stories is limited to subscribers and Cablevision customers, but here’s the URL:
    a href="http://www....