QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

From the authors: Thank you for choosing our book for your book group. We hope these questions will increase your enjoyment of the book and add to your discussion. These are questions that we found ourselves asking each other as we wrote this book.

1. Does society have an obligation to take responsibility for parent and system failures? What are the economic and moral pros and cons for stepping in?
   
   
2. The rural community surrounding the Boys Ranch is a character in the book. Comment on the interaction of this community and this institution. Discuss the part that “rural” plays in this treatment model.
   
   
3. Discuss the pros and cons of the “old-fashioned” orphanage and society’s move toward foster care. Do you think a modern orphanage could play a role in the current youth treatment model? How might it look and function?
   
   
4. Being the parent of a troubled youth can create mental health issues. Claire, the mother in “The Contents of My Heart” says, “By the time those kids get to a center, you bet the professional sees a dysfunctional family sitting across the table.” Discuss.
   
   
5. Imagine spending twenty-three years caring for troubled youth, as Juanita and Jim Zachary did. Many of the staff of the Boys Ranch have been there for years. What do you imagine makes them tick?
   
   
6. Discuss the special role that animals play in the Ranch’s treatment model. Do you believe animals can help troubled youth heal? What else is unique about the Ranch’s model?
   
   
7. What is a hero? Who are the heroes at the Ranch?
   
   
8. Penny wise or pound foolish: effective treatment or prisons? How might the world of youth treatment look if it were driven by clinical thinking instead of short-sighted economic decisions?
   

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