the vanishing american adult: our coming-of-age crisis - and how to rebuild a culture of self-reliance  <p>an instant <i>new york times</i> best seller - read by the author. </p> <p>in an era of safe spaces, trigger warnings, and an unprecedented election, the country's youth are in crisis. senator ben sasse warns the nation about the existential threat to america's future. </p> <p>raised by well-meaning but overprotective parents and coddled by well-meaning but misbegotten government programs, america's youth are ill-equipped to survive in our highly-competitive global economy. </p> <p>many of the coming-of-age rituals that have defined the american experience since the founding: learning the value of working with your hands, leaving home to start a family, becoming economically self-reliant - are being delayed or skipped altogether. the statistics are daunting: 30% of college students drop out after the first year, and only 4 in 10 graduate. one in three 18-to-34 year-olds live with their parents. </p> <p>from these disparate phenomena: nebraska senator ben sasse who as president of a midwestern college observed the trials of this generation up close, sees an existential threat to the american way of life. </p> <p>in <i>the vanishing american adult</i>, sasse diagnoses the causes of a generation that can't grow up and offers a path for raising children to become active and engaged citizens. he identifies core formative experiences that all young people should pursue: hard work to appreciate the benefits of labor, travel to understand deprivation and want, the power of reading, the importance of nurturing your body - and explains how parents can encourage them. </p> <p>our democracy depends on responsible, contributing adults to function properly - without them america falls prey to populist demagogues. a call to arms, <i>the vanishing american adult</i> will ignite a much-needed debate about the link between the way we're raising our children and the future of our country.</p>