This book is a strange mixture containing careful reviews of the literature, homespun advice, dialogues between a psychologist and his/her patients, and suggestions regarding care of chronically and fatally ill children, as well as suicidal adolescents. Added to this potpourri are some thoughts of the author about the importance of religion in a child's life. Furthermore, it is stated in the preface that the book "... can be easily understood by high school students as well as professional people" (page viii). In my opinion, the author has attempted to integrate too many topics under one cover and to direct the material to an overly broad audience.
The style of the book is intended to be "simple and concrete," consisting of 12 chapters, each of which is vaguely summarized, and excellent references. The simple and concrete style sometimes degenerates into flat, simplistic statements that are more annoying than helpful. For example: "The