All are welcome at our Madden Center for Global Learning on Saturday, March 1 for a book launch celebrating the release of the fifth title by longtime CHS English Teacher and award-winning author Paul Cumbo ’97.

Copies of "A Path to Manhood: Encouragement and Advice for Young Men" will be on sale, with signing available, while Cumbo will offer a reading and remarks.

Doors open at 7 p.m. with the reading and remarks scheduled for 7:30. Attendees should enter through the Blue Doors of 1180 Delaware Ave.

Preorder a copy of the book to pick up at the event via Talking Leaves Books.

"A Path to Manhood: Encouragement and Advice for Young Men," which went on sale Feb. 18, is the No. 1 new release in Men's Health at amazon.com, topping a list of 100 books, while it has also been the No. 1 new release in Men’s Gender Studies for two weeks running.

The foreword is by Emmy Award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author Luke Russert, son of the late Tim Russert ’68.

“It’s no secret that boys are falling behind in today’s America, but it doesn’t have to be that way,” Russert said ahead of the book’s publication. “’A Path to Manhood’ is a quick-paced, engaging read full of relatable vulnerability, critical thinking and robust explanations of the universal values that truly matter.

“Paul Cumbo provides a masterful blueprint for raising and engaging the ‘emerging men’ of today for tomorrow.”

Cumbo – whose four previous works include "Blue Doors," the sesquicentennial history of Canisius High School – draws on classical ethics, Jesuit spirituality and personal experience as he addresses today’s young men as a husband, father, teacher and coach in a conversational voice.

"My aim with the book is to be both challenging and affirming," Cumbo said. "It calls young men to do some reflection and introspection in order that they might understand themselves a bit better. It encourages them to find their own path – a combination of following in the footsteps of others and having the courage to go in new directions.”

From the news release by North Country Books, an imprint of Globe Pequot, the trade division of Rowman & Littlefield:

“In a world where young men are seeking direction, veteran educator Paul Cumbo offers a transformative roadmap to authentic manhood that bridges traditional values with modern understanding.

“Based on more than two decades of experience teaching and mentoring, Cumbo delivers an essential guide that speaks directly to today's teenage boys and young men with both warmth and challenge.

“This is not another shallow “man up” manifesto – it is a nuanced, apolitical exploration of what it truly means to grow into a man of strength, wisdom, and purpose.”

Cumbo holds two postgraduate degrees, including an MS in educational leadership. He has become a respected voice on the topic of healthy masculinity, and has been invited to speak at several independent boys’ schools across the country.

His other books include two novels, a short story collection, and "Blue Doors." "Wilderness Therapy" won Writer’s Digest’s award for best self-published young adult novel of 2020. His work has garnered industry praise from Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly, as well as from experts in education, parenting and adolescent psychology.

After more than two decades of full-time work in Jesuit education – mostly at CHS – Cumbo shifted to part-time teaching to grow a professional writing and editorial services company, PJC Editorial. He also – along with Adam Baber '01 – operates the Camino Institute, which offers retreat experiences in the Dominican Republic.

The author, 45, grew up in North Buffalo, and is one of five brothers, all alumni of CHS: Tom ’91, John ’93, Peter ’94 and David ’00. He lives in Western New York with his wife, Megan, and their three children.