The Journey of the Heroic Parent: Your Child's Struggle & The Road Home

SUCH a good book!! There are many good (and not so good) parenting books and philosophies out there. In my experience, however, none of them really address the critical importance of parental “intention”. If a parent has unresolved emotional and psychological stressors, even the best parenting techniques and philosophies will fall short of their mark. Parents will then struggle more in raising their kids to become healthy adults and positive contributions to society. The excellence of this book is rooted in its message about empowering parents with the ability to go within and dig to the roots of how and why they parent the way they do. Truly seeing the “self” and fostering good emotional health and empathy builds a solid foundation for parents to better work with whatever parenting philosophies and techniques work best for their families.My personal favorite parenting philosophy is written about in the book “Parenting With Love and Logic” by Jim Fay and Foster Cline. I have experienced first-hand how effective this philosophy can be when parents utilize it from a place of love and empathy. I have also personally witnessed how ineffective it can be when a parent uses the methods of “love and logic” without the backing of love and empathy. When a parents’ own unresolved issues, traumas, codependency, inner wounds, and anger merge with “love and logic” methods, the techniques can twist into drama and abuse. “Journey of the Heroic Parent” empowers parents to address any of their own issues which could undermine otherwise outstanding parenting philosophies like “love and logic”.The author, Dr. Reedy, specializes in working with families who are dealing with “difficult” kids, often who are struggling with addictions of some kind. Dr. Reedy is the founder of a wilderness program designed to work with these kids and their families. Although ”Journey of the Heroic Parent” references a lot of the authors’ experience working with these kinds of family relationship dynamics, this book is equally beneficial for people who want to take their journey as a parent to another level. Doing the inner work will help parents create and develop closer connections with their kids, empowering a parent-child relationship that is built on trust, love, strength, healthy boundaries, and mutual empathy. This creates a strong foundation for a parenting “journey” that empowers kids with a much better chance of growing up to be emotionally and psychologically healthy individuals and positive contributions to society. I highly recommend this book to anyone who desires a more authentic bond with their children and who want to be the best possible parent – and person - they can be.

This book helped me hone my parenting style and change my perspective on how to base my decisions on love not fear. Rethink boundaries, not just with my 13 year old, but others as well, by taking inventory of myself. May sound kinda airy fairy - but it’s not. It helped me trust my intuition and also realize I will make mistakes along the way.

Love love love this book. The author knows about teens and is very helpful in guiding parents in raising their children. There was so much good information in this book I need to read it again. It's the best book I've read on parenting. If your child is headed down the wrong road it's a must read. If you don't think you're child is headed down the wrong road still read this book because it will help you prevent that from happening. Ask parents whose kids are making bad choices if they ever thought their son or daughter would be doing what they are doing and you'll get a lot of no responses. We are a middle class two parent family, no divorces and strong morals and values. One child is on the right path and the other one isn't making good decisions. We all make mistakes. This book helps us make less.

Pretty amazing, empowering book if you’re at the end of your rope with teenagers. I expected a how to parent book but felt it was way more about examining myself so I can make peace with being the parent of a stressful teen.

Full disclosure: I'm not a parent. I read this book because it was recommended to me for a friend. I bought the book for my friend and I read it as well. While my friend loved it, I feel like I may have even gotten as much out of it as she did. From my non-parent perspective, the discussions in the book can apply to any intimate relationship, whether parent-child, spouses, or just close friends. Dr. Reedy guides you through principles to help you change you, not to help you change anyone else. His personal stories and struggles put him on the same level as anyone else and remind you that we all struggle in our relationships. I'm recommending it to anyone who has children, a spouse, or friends.

This book was recommended to me by my sister-in-law. Although I don't have a teenager yet, I do have a tween with autism, and I have found the insights in this book very helpful. The biggest takeaway so far is learning to let go of feeling like your kids need to make you happy and recognizing what you can control and what you can't. In any parenting situation, you grieve the changed expectations and have to adjust and give your child permission to be their best self without disappointing you while also still giving clear boundaries and limits. Definitely a book to read and ponder again.

I wish I had read this book 10 or even 15 years ago, but at that time I didn't know I needed it. Even still with my 20 year old son battling addiction and childhood trauma, and me seeing so clearly now how poorly I have handled all of that, it's never too late to improve upon the way I relate to him. I find also that the ideas put forth in this book are helpful in my dealings with all people, not just my son.

I have read numerous books since my daughter went to RTC. This by far was the best. It gives concrete tools, explanations and stories to illustrate and aid comprehension. I got it in audiobook and for once the narrator didn’t make voices like an insolent teen.

This is also an awesome book if you are struggling with your teens!

Education purposes

A must read for any parent despite having been written for parents whose kids are suffering from addictions.

Excellent read for all parents. I've read it twice, good practical advice.bought a second copy for a friend.