his book, Raising Hope: Four Paths to Courageous Living for Black Youth, written by Anne E. Streaty Wimberly and Sarah Frances Farmer, is a much-needed corrective to the negative assessment of today's youth and the hopelessness that accompanies such an assessment. Wimberly and Farmer o er a positive view of the aspirations and potential of today's youth, which challenges the too-often-heard narrative of disre- spect, lack of motivation, immorality, and destructive behavior used to characterize our youth. Wimberly and Farmer are not wild-eyed optimists whose conclu- sions are divorced from reality. In fact, their assessment is based on years of working with, listening to, and encouraging young people, and the good they have seen in the youth they have mentored. These authors and researchers are familiar with the challenges young people face today and how hard it is for them to negotiate the treacherous twists and turns that confront them. However, they have come to know that the greatest asset that young people can have is the strength and courage that come from hope, that amazing belief in the possible despite the challenges. Anne and Sarah have experienced that hope in their own lives and in the lives of the youth they have been privileged to work with and see grow. That is why they are committed to "e;raising hope."e;This book, however, is more than a story of the promise of today's youth and the value of hope. Even as the book challenges youth to believe in themselves and their potential, especially those who are African American and have the battle of racism to ght, it also chal- lenges adults, especially churchgoing adults, to get involved in the lives of youth. Those dual challenges provide the framework for the book's discussions of the paths that will allow hope to be nurtured, strength- ened, and sustained so that a new generation of youth can reach their potential.

his book, Raising Hope: Four Paths to Courageous Living for Black Youth, written by Anne E. Streaty Wimberly and Sarah Frances Farmer, is a much-needed corrective to the negative assessment of today's youth and the hopelessness that accompanies such an assessment. Wimberly and Farmer o er a positive view of the aspirations and potential of today's youth, which challenges the too-often-heard narrative of disre- spect, lack of motivation, immorality, and destructive behavior used to characterize our youth. Wimberly and Farmer are not wild-eyed optimists whose conclu- sions are divorced from reality. In fact, their assessment is based on years of working with, listening to, and encouraging young people, and the good they have seen in the youth they have mentored. These authors and researchers are familiar with the challenges young people face today and how hard it is for them to negotiate the treacherous twists and turns that confront them. However, they have come to know that the greatest asset that young people can have is the strength and courage that come from hope, that amazing belief in the possible despite the challenges. Anne and Sarah have experienced that hope in their own lives and in the lives of the youth they have been privileged to work with and see grow. That is why they are committed to "e;raising hope."e;This book, however, is more than a story of the promise of today's youth and the value of hope. Even as the book challenges youth to believe in themselves and their potential, especially those who are African American and have the battle of racism to ght, it also chal- lenges adults, especially churchgoing adults, to get involved in the lives of youth. Those dual challenges provide the framework for the book's discussions of the paths that will allow hope to be nurtured, strength- ened, and sustained so that a new generation of youth can reach their potential.