This is a book to help young people feel more confident about the world they're entering. I want to be truthful but reassuring. I can't pretend bad things don't happen. The evidence for that is everywhere. What I'm saying is that there's also this other thing happening everywhere. For some reason it doesn't get nearly as many headlines but it's what inspires me to write. I don't want this book to be one of those breezy tracts used to sell notions of personal destiny. I'm arguing from stories I've written for a newspaper. I'm trying to persuade young people of a view of the world which may sustain them over the long run. I want to say there is real evidence for optimism.