Better Boys, Better Men: The New Masculinity That Creates Greater Courage and Emotional Resiliency

Summary

A thought-provoking, deeply personal look at toxic masculinity, male mental health, and what it takes to raise emotionally resilient boys and men.

In Better Boys, Better Men, cultural critic and New York Times contributor Andrew Reiner argues that boys and men today are working from an outdated model of masculinity—one that blocks the very courage, strength, and resiliency we claim to want from them most. The cost is real: rising male loneliness, depression, and disturbing upticks in violence.

Neither nostalgic for old-school manhood nor quick to dismiss masculinity altogether, Reiner charts a third way. Drawing on interviews with boys and men of all ages, plus educators, counselors, therapists, and physicians nationwide, he offers an honest look at what's failing boys today—and the shifts already underway among those redefining strength and connection. The book closes with an intimate letter to his own son, grounding the research in hope for the next generation.

An essential read for parents raising sons, partners of men, educators, and anyone rethinking modern masculinity and emotional health for boys and men.