---

Revision with unchanged content. Now, more than ever, global events and changing socioeconomic structures cause us to pause and reflect upon the underlying factors that define many working class youth approaching adulthood. Something happened that transformed the lives of the characters in this book who defied the odds and chose a new direction toward a brighter future with the promise of higher education. But the reader also comes to better understand how these same characters and thousands like them across the globe will experience nothing more than despair and self destruction. As the book unfolds we prepare to become fully engaged in the lives of several emerging adult males who found themselves living on the edge. The author gained special insights through several years of working directly with troubled youth approaching adulthood. His perspectives were also shaped by beginning his own journey through life in a working class family located in the Midwestern region of the United States.

---

Gary C. Lindeman, Doctor of Philosophy, Adult & Continuing Education, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI. Academic Emphasis: Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis. Research and Academic Interests: Transformative learning, change theory, human growth and development.

---