Meh. I read it because our youngest is currently in a wilderness therapy program and will soon be moving to a therapeutic boarding school. I feel bad for the author for what he went through, but a lot has changed in the decade since he and the other teens about whom he writes were in their respective placements.

I also think that he over-generalizes. He complains that the success rates touted by these programs are just anecdotal; but so are his failure rates. Take a car--a Mercedes is an excellent car. Does that mean that people won't have horrible experiences with individual Mercedes? No. But does that mean Mercedes (or Lexus, or Honda or whatever) is a horrible brand? Also no.

I think a lot has changed. Most notably is the ability for current and prospective parents (and their children) to communicate on social media (for example, a number of different Facebook groups). Yes, it is true that some kids have bad experiences at particular placements. But these appear to be more one-offs (not to disparage the negative experience) and not reflective of the program. Unless, of course, scores of parents and their children have been lying to us. And I also think that the legal system (i.e. class action lawsuits etc) is doing a better job in 2020/2021 than it was in 2007-2009 to close down the truly bad places (using the car analogy, similar to what happened to the Pinto's with the exploding gas tank).

Anyhow, in sum, you have to read this book with a grain of salt. It is completely unreflective of our child's current experience in wilderness and the scores of conversations--oral and via text message--we've had with parents of children currently in, or recently graduated from, wilderness, residential treatment centers, or therapeutic boarding schools.

Or maybe I'm just trying to make myself feel better before sending our child to the next placement... ( )

Tragic. Rosen uses case studies of four particular people and their experiences with wilderness re-education camps (and residential, boarding school style similar institutions) to paint a truly tragic picture. On an anecdotal basis, these camps seem horrifying in an Orange Is The New Black kind of way - an in depth look at the what really happens to some individuals. For what it is - these anecdotal experiences with a few claims backed up with the barest of bibliographies - it really is a strong read and a needed one. However, I would welcome a much more comprehensive, and cited, further examination along the lines of Radley Balko's Rise of the Warrior Cop or Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow. Because this particular topic, based on the strengths of these particular anecdotes, seems to warrant such an investigation. Very much recommended. ( )

3.5 I grew up on the Northwest side of Chicago, a neighborhood filled with many children my own age. Some of us, like myself went to Catholic School, others the public school. Discipline in Catholic school was maintained by a system of guilt, fear and corporal punishment. The public school threat was if one didn't behave, cut classes, they would be sent to Montifiore, a school for troubled children. This is my long winded way of explaining why I have no direct knowledge of the programs mentioned in this book.

Rose, who was once a participant in one such program, shares his own experience, but also the experience of four others. Wilderness programs, survival camps, last resort schools, are programs with little or no oversight, often coupled with untrained counselors. These places of last resort are extremely lucrative. The details shock, often I couldn't understand how the tactics they used are supposed to be effective and too often the scars they leave are permanent.

An eye opening book, personal stories and a look at a mostly unregulated industry. The desperation of parents of whom Rosen is not unsympathetic, but there has to be a better way. The cost is high both financially and in destructiveness, mentally hard to overcome. Heartbreaking really. ( )