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Summary: Praise for Letting Go
Review: "Sending a child off to college can be jolting as well as joyous. Letting Go offers a treasury of insights into this rite of passage rooted not in psychological jargon but in experience and common sense.
-- Edward B. Fiske, author of The Fiske Guide to Colleges
"The original Letting Go has served as a seminal source of information to families and their college-bound children for many years. This updated edition adds contemporary elements (especially in technology and diversity of student population) which will make this volume invaluable for years to come."
-- Larry Moneta, Vice Provost for University Life, University of Pennsylvania
"The third edition of Letting Go is better than ever. It is must reading for parents embarking with their son or daughter on the college experience. Information is relevant, current, practical, and easy to understand. It introduces parents to college issues, challenges, and services available at colleges and universities in the 1990s."
-- Dr. Patricia A. Whitely, Vice President for Student Affairs, University of Miami
"A sensitive, informative and well-written guide to help parents know what their children are getting into when they leave for college. Full of practical advice and psychological insight, it's a better antidote than Valium for the anxieties parents feel as they prepare to let their children go."
-- Ben Leiber, Dean of Students, Amherst Colleg
Rating: 
Summary: Let Go!
Review: After years of reading "Your Two Year Old - Terrible yet Tender", all of a sudden you are the proud owner of an eighteen year old who is leaving home and leaving you behind. Quick -- where's the owner's manual? "Letting Go" will do for most bereaved ex-parents. If you are mourning the the "loss" of your child to their freshman college roommate, it's good to know that others are suffering a similar syndrome as they go though the first college year. As deans and college counselors, the writers have seen it all. They describe with uncany accuracy all the behaviors that accompany this very powerful event for both parent and child. So if it helps you to know many others have shared the same experience, Letting Go, will give you all the details.
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Summary: Parenting's Graduate Thesis
Review: After years of reading "Your Two Year Old - Terrible yet Tender", all of a sudden you are the proud owner of an eighteen year old who is leaving home and leaving you behind. Quick -- where's the owner's manual? "Letting Go" will do for most bereaved ex-parents. If you are mourning the the "loss" of your child to their freshman college roommate, it's good to know that others are suffering a similar syndrome as they go though the first college year. As deans and college counselors, the writers have seen it all. They describe with uncany accuracy all the behaviors that accompany this very powerful event for both parent and child. So if it helps you to know many others have shared the same experience, Letting Go, will give you all the details.
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Summary: Best Guide Yet!
Review: As a college placement counselor in a highly-competitive preparatory school for many years, I have found this book to be most valuable in preparing parents for dealing with the angst of a young adult who is going away to college. It also tells you what to expect during their first years away. Buy it early in a student's senior year for the greatest benefit. This is a classic and a jewel!
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Summary: Limited Practical Advice but Covers Many Phenomena
Review: Fast-moving book of advice for parents of college kids is written by a Dean and a psychotherapist, so be aware of the "leave it to the professionals" attitude and sense of fatalism (in guise of acceptance and tolerance) that sullies an otherwise very good guidebook. A couple of chapters into it, I realized that this book might be a good one for parents of babies to read... no kidding. Because so many of the problems between college students and their parents could be easily handled or even avoided if parents always had a good solid communication line with their kids. From Day One! Simply, every parent lets go of their kid eventually, and it is sobering to consider that, 'round college time, you are either letting go of a friend or a stranger. What makes this is an extremely useful guide is the authors' obvious close knowledge of and experience with almost every kind of pitfall a student can drop into. Parents are indeed given a thorough rundown of what they can expect to see happen. IN AMAZING DETAIL! Students about to enter college are well-advised to read the chapter called "The Freshman Year." It is an excellent examination of what's very possibly in store, will prepare the student for some of the challenges faced by all Freshmen. The nervous 'newbie' may find some real solace in knowing that (s)he is not alone in her/his anxieties and uncertainties. The authors' drugs warnings are a bit too complacent for my sense of health and self-discipline, meaning that there is an annoying hint of "well, that's what kids do in college." But I also took that as a helpful bit of data, because now I know that college administrators and professionals simply don't care if your kid is on drugs, until it escalates into an enormous problem. That in itself helps me as a parent, because I see the limitations of the average administration's care. Another annoying facet to the book is a pervading sense that all professors are right, or at least unquestionable (authors definitely side with academic authority). Frankly, there are a large number of professors preaching utter garbage or who have no desire to really see their students actually learn something concrete. This possibility is never suggested, whereas I would firmly state that there are some students who are bright and capable who would never "make it" in a college environment. Dropping out is mentioned only once & only as a kind of last resort of degradation and shame. The possibility that a class or professor may be totally wrong for a student is glossed over. I would suggest to editor/publisher that the index be improved and lengthened in any later edition. So despite the flaws that linger like mist, I still recommend the book as a collection of scenarios and phenomena the parent would not necessarily have anticipated. Read the book, talk to your kids, let go gently. Definitely prepares the parent for what college life can be all about, and offers some ideas for how friction and conflict can be avoided. Liberal use of student, teacher, dean, and parent statements (however edited they may be) ring true and make this a wonderful, and even, at times, a heartwarmingly humorous read.
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Summary: Let Go!
Review: I am a Unviersity instructor and a parent. I suggest this book to all parents who want to understand what their child is going through while at college. A perfect accompaniment to Letting Go is Major in Success by Patrick Combs. It changes lives!
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Summary: Good advice for that first year
Review: I highly recommend this book to anyone sending their kid off to college. It's very helpful to understand the ups and downs that will come, so that when you get those calls you can know what's normal and what's not, when to get involved and when to promote independence(or just lend an ear). The book is well organized and easy to read. I found myself going to specific areas for some great advice and then reading it almost cover to cover.
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Summary: A great book for parents of High School teens
Review: I received this book as a gift when my son was a junior in high school. He is now graduated from college and my daughter is a college sophmore. This book is the BEST parenting book I have ever read during all my years as a parent. Both my kids are very different yet this book touched on each of their challenges with practical and thoughtful advice as to how to address the different phases that each child went through. Many times, I followed their guidance, sometimes not sure if it would work, and was always pleased when it did! I give this gift to all my friends who are at this stage and always get an enthusiastic response after they have read it. It was truly my guidebook for these years and is dogeared from use! I highly recommend this book!
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Summary: Letting Go but Holding Yourself
Review: Letting go of a son or daughter heading for college is a big deal for the student and, the parent. There are many decisions to be made as your student prepares for college and suddenly, you find yourself carrying their belongings to the dormitory room, saying the final good bye, and walking to the car. As the parent, are you ready to walk by the empty bedroom or have one less place at the dinner table? Letting Go addresses the journey of academics and life experiences that await your student and gives parents something else to hold on to while letting go.
The role of parenting is now done from a distance, perhaps by phone or email It will be different. Letting Go helps parents contemplate their next journey as well. What is next for you? Address your own needs as a parents and not just a workerbee who is trying to pay college tuition.
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Summary: you are not alone
Review: This book and When Your Kid Goes to College were worth many hours of therapy during the late summer and early fall of my son's first quarter at college, especially around the time we took him down to school. I preferred Letting Go because it was more comprehensive, but other parents might prefer When Your Kid...There is a wide array of situations to learn from and to place your own experience in context. The authors provide trend material from their long-term research to help parents distinguish their child's college context from their own. I observed other parents coping with this transition unaided. Some were fine but others were having trouble and personalized the experience. Facts do help mitigate emotions. I recommended this book to one overwhelmed mother whose prodigy had gone far away to pursue her talent. Her response was "Thank you, I'll let you know when I am ready for a book (ital.)" as if this would be cold comfort for her personal loss. But the fact is, the authors know way more than most of our friends and relatives do; and the number of parents going through this experience is very large (check the book for figures). There is a great deal to learn both from the academic analysis and from the many examples of parents' experiences. Well researched, well written, logical and helpful.
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