In a world where young men are seeking direction, veteran educator Paul Cumbo offers a transformative roadmap to authentic manhood that bridges traditional values with modern understanding.

Based on more than two decades of experience teaching and mentoring, Cumbo delivers an essential guide that speaks directly to today's teenage boys and young men with both warmth and challenge. This is not another shallow man up manifesto - it is a nuanced, apolitical exploration of what it truly means to grow into a man of strength, wisdom, and purpose.

Through practical wisdom and engaging storytelling, A Path to Manhood addresses core issues young men face:

• Building genuine self-knowledge and emotional intelligence
• Developing healthy relationships and true friendship
• Making smart decisions about education, technology, finance, and vocation
• Understanding love, marriage, faith, and fatherhood
• Breaking negative patterns and building positive habits that last a lifetime

Endorsed by leading experts in psychology, education, and spirituality including Leonard Sax, Michael Reichert, Michael Gurian, and Fr. James Martin, SJ, this compact guide speaks to both the head and heart of a young man navigating his journey to adulthood. Whether you are a young man seeking direction or someone who cares about one, this book provides the perfect balance of encouragement and challenge needed for today's generation.

INSIDE TEN STORIES...

A young girl at the zoo comes face-to-face with a four-hundred-pound gorilla that seems to be in on her guilty secret.

When they steal a bike from a reclusive neighbor's shed, three middle school boys discover a history of tragic loss in their Adirondack town.

A collegiate swimmer who's never been fooled by boys discovers that she's fooled herself over one: the young philosophy professor who swims in the university pool.

When his older cousin meets a seductive woman in a 1969 Thunderbird, a boy gets a revealing look at the thrill of teenage life.

A young state trooper carries a diamond ring in his pocket across an Arizona desert highway, hesitant to make his move, until circumstances speed things up.

A veteran literature teacher comes to grips with the true power of final chapters on his last day in the classroom.

Awash in the excitement of a lucrative first job, a fresh-faced college graduate gets a dose of reality on the streets of New York.

Set in varied landscapes, these ten short stories provide glimpses of humanity from a multitude of angles. They tell of men, women, children, and families at different stages of life's journey: beginnings, endings, and stops along the way. Each portrays ordinary people at extraordinary moments - both joyful and tragic - that shape their experience of the world.

Mike Whittaker's little brother has drowned, dragging the high school senior into an abyss of grief. But when he learns what really happened at the Lawson town pool, despair turns to rage, and he brings a gun to school. Mike's near-deadly assault on a classmate has him headed for juvenile detention, and his only leverage is the truth about his brother's death -- a dark secret that threatens the most powerful family in Lawson. A legal gambit sends Mike to a wilderness therapy program instead of prison, where he and his unlikely companions face their demons at an isolated mountain lodge under the guidance of tough-love mentors. Just two weeks in, however, a suspicious accident leaves the boys stranded and unsupervised. They soon discover a menace within their group, and what began as a struggle for redemption becomes a fight for survival deep in the Montana wilderness.

Mike Whittaker's little brother has drowned, dragging the high school senior into an abyss of grief. But when he learns what really happened at the Lawson town pool, despair turns to rage, and he brings a gun to school. Mike's near-deadly assault on a classmate has him headed for juvenile detention, and his only leverage is the truth about his brother's death-a dark secret that threatens the most powerful family in Lawson. A legal gambit sends Mike to a wilderness therapy program instead of prison, where he and his unlikely companions face their demons at an isolated mountain lodge under the guidance of tough-love mentors. Just two weeks in, however, a suspicious accident leaves the boys stranded and unsupervised. They soon discover a menace within their group, and what began as a struggle for redemption becomes a fight for survival deep in the Montana wilderness.