Choosing the book
Looking for a book for teenagers? What should you look for?
A helpful book for teenagers is honest, short enough to dip into and gives them something to actually do, not just read. Start Where You Are was built around those three things after Ash asked young people what they wanted from a book like this.
What young people said they wanted
- Real stories from people who have struggled
- Short ideas they can actually give a go
- Something honest that reminds them they are not the only one
They also said what they didn't want: another adult lecture, unrealistic stories of people who magically fixed their lives, and pages of advice on how to be successful.
Questions worth asking about any book
- Can they open it at any chapter and get something useful?
- Does it give them a small action, or only ideas?
- Does it treat different paths (university, trades, work, sport) as equally valid?
- Is it written by someone who works with young people?
How Start Where You Are answers them
Readers can start with any chapter, each one ends with a small action, every path is treated as valid, and Ash has spent more than 20 years working with young people, as a teacher and through Growing With Gratitude.
Related questions
Why people trust Start Where You Are
- Written by Ash Manuel, a former PE teacher and founder of Growing With Gratitude, which has reached more than 1 million young people across 1,205 schools in 80 countries.
- Foreword by Dr Phil Cummins of the University of Sydney and the Sydney Character Initiative.
- Shaped by conversations with young people about what they actually wanted from a book like this.
- Published by Amba Press and featured on 9News Adelaide.