Non-Fiction

Cohen, D. (Ed.) (1991). The circle of life: rituals from the human family album. San Francisco: Harper.   
Life passages in diverse cultures, depicted with photographs and text.

Cote, J. E.  (1994).  Adolescent storm and stress:  an evaluation of the Mead
Freeman controversy.  Hillsdale, New Jersey:  Lawrence Earlbaum Associates.
An examination of the Margaret Mead (nurture) view of the coming of age of adolescents in a simple society (Samoa) and the challenge Freeman (nature) made of Mead’s hypotheses and conclusions.  Mead concluded that adolescents suffered little “storm and stress” in simple societies.  

Cote, J. E. &  Allahar, A. L. (1994).  Generation on hold: coming of age in the late twentieth-century.  New York:  New York University Press.
Discusses the prolongation of youth resulting from industrialization and legislation, economic disenfranchisement and the new service worker, and youth targeted as consumers of the media, music, fashion, and education industries.

Fried, M. N. & Fried, M. S. (1980). Transitions: four rituals in eight cultures.  CITY: Norton.
Comparative analysis of rituals of birth, puberty, marriage, and death. Discusses rites, ceremonies, customs and transitions.

Grimes, R. L. (2000).  Deeply into the bone:  re-inventing rites of passage. University of California Press.
Reviewed by Library Journal and appeared in The Chronicle of Higher Education (June 2, 2000, p. A23).  Grimes describes a rite of passage as “involving transformation – a process through which an individual’s life is permanently and irrevocably altered in some manner.”  The book contains first-person accounts of transitions in life’s passage. 

LaFlamme, L. (2001) Rites of passage: a celebration of menarche. Winchester, MA: Synchronicity Press.
Celebrates the beginning of womanhood as marked by the first menstrual cycle through poems, quotations and other writings, and includes questions and blank journal pages for reflection. Adult companion book is available.

 “Within the book, that special girl will look forward with awe to her approaching womanhood, feel empowered and confident, understand that the female body is a treasure deserving of respect and honor, look forward to making empowered choices, and know that she is loved, respected and cherished.”

Liptak, K. (1994). Coming of age: traditions and rituals around the world. Brookfield, CT: The Millbook Press.

Good introduction to the socio-anthropological basis of coming of age in a more informal style. Each chapter focuses on a rite of passage in a different culture like the Apache Sunrise ritual in North America or Adults’ Day in Japan. It is an essential book for understanding rites of passage for adolescents in a general sense and serves as a strong basis for implementing any contemporary rites for teens or for teachers to use with students in exploring other cultures.

Mahidi, L.C., et al. (1996) Crossroads: the quest for contemporary rites of
passage. Chicago: Open Court.  
This collection of fifty essays is an important book for adults who want to know more about rites of passage in different cultures around the world. It examines myths, history, and contemporary rites of passage. In addition, rites of passage programs such as vision quests, outdoor wilderness adventures, youth service activities, and others are discussed in detail.

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