New to forum..need advise

Are you looking for something that you think will be inspirational (emotionally) to him in terms of building his self-esteem or sense of hope in terms of his place in the world, or are you looking for something that he will simply find entertaining and enjoyable, inspiring him simply to read more- which might in itself lead to him feeling better about himself and his chances in the world?

What are his interests? Does he have a reading level commensurate with his level of education (just because someone finished tenth grade doesn't mean they read to that grade level-the average adult reads at an eighth grade level, the reading level in which most newspapers and magazines are written).

If he's not a big reader and you want to encourage him, a good place to start is magazines about subjects that he finds interesting-maybe cars or sports or something like that. This will get him in the habit of reading for information and might spur him on to books.

Purely for entertainment, a lot of young males that age like Robert Ludlum. He's easy to read, has fast moving exciting plots, they find the characters interesting, etc.

I really want to find something that will inspire him.He seems to be a bright young man but very angry.I

When I worked in sales, I was sent to a Tony (Anthony) Robbins seminar and found some of his techniques to be very useful in building confidence and getting focused on goals. I have since used some of his books when working with my literacy students (who sound a lot like your young man). I don't recommend paying the big bucks for his tapes/cds, but you can often find used copies of his books and tapes on Amazon, Ebay or even at the local library. As with my literacy students, you might want to offer him tapes/cds to start with and then encourage him to read the books.

Wonderful idea...thanks!

You're welcome.
I think it was once possible to get "scholarship" entrance into his seminars. You might want to write to them and see if you can arrange something for your friend. Here's the website:

Anthony Robbins Seminars


Good luck.

I don't know how appropriate this would be for the young man in question, but I read, and was deeply moved by and inspired by a book called:

"A Child Called It" by David Peltzer.


It is about his childhood and the horrific abuse he suffered at the hands of his alcoholic and monstrous mother.

I continued to read his next two (The Lost Boy, and A Man Named Dave) which continue the story and was happy to see how he turned out at the end and did not, himself, turn into a monster.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Pelzer