The Youngest Parents

By Michael H. Coles, Robert Coles, Robert Coles M.D.

Book Overview

These teenage parents are black, white, and Hispanic; city dwellers and residents of small towns. From conversations with these teenagers, Dr. Coles weaves a subtle yet dramatic narrative that reveals the aspirations and apprehensions of these "youngest parents" whose prospects aren't very promising and whose assumptions aren't always those he, or we, share. Young mothers don't have an easy time ahead of them, but many pregnant teens believe that the babies they carry will lead lives very different from their own, that their babies may find the success that eludes them and may escape the limitations they've suffered. Dr. Coles finds that the fathers' confusion and, sometimes, resentment give way to a deep longing for respect and a desire for a way out of lives limited by poverty and poor education. Dr. Coles's text is accompanied by photographic essays by two outstanding American photographers. Jocelyn Lee, a photographer based in Boston, lived intimately with young families in Massachusetts where she explored the daily lives of young parents. John Moses, a pediatrician and photographer, worked for several years with teenage parents in rural North Carolina, and his pictures show the pride and tenderness they've found in family life.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393040828
• ISBN13: 9780393040821
• Release Date: May 1997
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 223 Pages
• Weight: 2.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 8.0" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Good Product

I got this book very fast which I needed for my class and it came in good condition. I would recommend this seller to anyone needing textbooks.

Best book on teenage pregnancy

What a subtle, beautiful, thought-provoking book. Indispensible for understanding how teenage pregnancy shapes the lives of young people. Offers a poignant view of a variety of American teens facing parenthood, of different classes, different races, different religions and regions. Would be particularly valuable for high-school researchers, or as a complement to drier, more statistical or policy-oriented analyses.

Fantastic photographs which capture your heart and mind

The photographs are fantastic and will capture your heart and mind. The pictures communicate in a way words never could. You will feel like you know and understand these young mothers.