New Book Shows Why Equipping Adolescents to Thrive Is Key to a Brighter Future
Lisa Lawson with young people in Atlanta
A new book by Lisa Lawson, president and CEO of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, calls for a bold shift in how policymakers, employers, communities and nonprofits support youth as they navigate adolescence — the decade-long journey from childhood to adulthood.
Thrive: How the Science of the Adolescent Brain Helps Us Imagine a Better Future for All Children explores this important but often misunderstood stage of life and the steps we must all take to serve Generation Z better. The book is grounded in adolescent development research and in the Foundation’s Thrive by 25® effort, which aims to ensure that all young people 14 to 24 are equipped to become thriving adults by age 25.
Thrive will be released by the New Press on Sept. 16, 2025, and is available for preorder from the publisher and major booksellers.
Why Lawson Wrote Thrive
Lawson became interested in adolescent brain science after attending a 2016 meeting in St. Louis, where young people explained in their own words how their brains developed, and how those insights were helping the adults in their lives support them better. Their stories highlighted a key truth: If communities and systems better understood how teens and young adults are motivated, and how they develop decision-making skills, emotional control and the ability to plan, they could serve youth more effectively.
The emerging research on adolescent development informed the Foundation’s investments and the creation of Thrive by 25. Lawson says the book is a way to share promising approaches from the effort and spark broader action at a time when an uncertain economy, the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and high levels of stress mean young people face a vastly different — and harder — path to adulthood than previous generations.
“I wrote Thrive to change how we see adolescence — not as a problem to fix, but as a powerful period of growth and possibility,” Lawson says. “If we understand what’s happening in young people’s brains, we can build the systems and support they need to thrive. That’s how we shape a better future — not just for them, but for all of us.”
Adolescence: A Second Window for Growth
Adolescence is as critical for healthy development as early childhood, research shows. Key developmental insights include:
- The front part of the brain or prefrontal cortex, responsible for decision-making, is not fully developed until around age 25 — later than many might assume.
- Adolescents are wired to seek new experiences, rewards and the approval of their peers.
- The adolescent brain is elastic and able to adapt. For teens who have faced adversity, it can also grow and recover with supportive environments.
“We have to stop treating normal adolescent behavior like a problem. The science is clear: Teenagers take risks, push boundaries and follow their peers because their brains are still developing. Instead of blaming them, let’s build systems that understand them — with more mentors, more positive opportunities to engage their active minds and more real-world learning,” Lawson says.
What Young People Need to Thrive: Crossing the Bridge to Adulthood
Like a bridge, adolescence connects two major life phases: childhood and adulthood. Brain science, Lawson says, is our engineering plan to be proactive and design that bridge to be stable and strong.
Crossing it isn’t always smooth; it takes time, guidance and support. Young people need intentional design and investment from all of us — families, communities, systems, employers — to reach adulthood ready to thrive.
Thrive outlines five essentials — the cables that hold up the bridge — that help youth successfully cross to adulthood:
- Basic Needs. When young people have food, housing, health care, safety and access to technology, they can better focus on school, work and their futures. Basic needs must come first.
- Permanent connections. Teens need consistent, caring adults. Stable relationships help buffer stress and support identity formation, healing and trust.
- Education and credentials. Learning settings in adolescence should be relevant, flexible and connected to real-world career pathways — especially for students who face barriers.
- Financial stability and well-being. Financial independence is a developmental milestone. Teens need opportunities to earn income, build credit and gain financial skills.
- Youth leadership. Adolescents thrive when they feel seen, heard and trusted to contribute. Leadership should not just be a future goal — it’s a developmental need now.
These priorities reflect what young people say they need — not just to survive, but to succeed.
A Shift in Perspective — and Action
No young person builds their bridge to adulthood alone. Thrive calls on the community of adults in young people’s lives to support them in ways that leverage growing knowledge about adolescent brain science. The book explores key questions:
- What motivates young people, and how can systems align with their development?
- How do adolescents learn best, and how can we support that process?
- Who influences teens most, and how can relationships with caring adults foster positive outcomes?
The book highlights various innovative Foundation investments that reflect this developmental approach and are getting strong results. The SOUL Family Framework, for example, is connecting young people in foster care to permanent families for long-term support. The Partnership for Youth Apprenticeship is exposing high school students to early work experiences and college courses. And new opportunity-based probation practices are helping youth in the juvenile justice system have much better outcomes than punitive approaches.
Everyone Has a Role
Lawson emphasizes that lasting change requires action from key sectors that influence the trajectory of young people. She reminds us that we are all bridge builders who are needed to help ensure every young person makes it safely to adulthood:
- Public systems can promote stable relationships, clear guidance, second chances and connections to opportunities and mentorship.
- Employers can provide paid, flexible, developmentally supportive job opportunities that help youth both contribute and grow.
- Nonprofits and philanthropies can offer programs grounded in brain science and guided by what young people say will work for them.
- Families and communities can support youth with consistent empathy, guidance and care, along with age-appropriate responses.
“We know so much more now about the critical window of adolescence than we once did,” Lawson says. “If we use this knowledge to support youth and young adults better, we won’t just improve the trajectory of their lives — we’ll build a brighter future for all of us.”
Learn more about how Thrive by 25 investments are helping to reimagine postsecondary education in New Mexico and connecting high-school graduates to careers in Baltimore.
