Contemporary times have seen a growing malaise affecting our youth: Gang membership has grown 40 percent in three years, suicide is up 89 percent in twelve-to fourteen-year-old adolescents in the last two decades, anti-depressant use in children is up over 400 percent and 40 percent of all children are born outside of marriage. Bullying, cutting, anorexia, and antisocial personality disorders are all on the rise. Running on Empty presents a powerful case for the cause behind these destructive trends, and offers a hopeful and unique paradigm to help youth transcend their deepening pain. Through blending ancient wisdom with contemporary psychological insights, this book offers a comprehensive path for transformation that can end youth’s suffering and reverse the downward-spiraling trends.

About the Author

Jim Nelson worked for fifteen years as a licensed psychologist at the Family Life Mental Health Center. He served on the Anoka County Mental Health Advisory Board as an advocate for the mentally ill, taught high school psychology for over twenty years, and spent the last twelve years as a clinical psychologist. Nelson has also taught meditation for more than thirty years and is vice-president of AHYMS, an association of meditation centers throughout North and South America. Recently retired from teaching and private practice, he remains active in his business, Nelson’s Interactive Seminars, traveling and speaking all over the world. Nelson graduated magna cum laude in psychology from the University of Minnesota and holds two master’s degrees. He lives just north of Minneapolis with his wife, Candice, and their dog, Desi.

What's Being Said

“In Running on Empty, James Nelson has contributed not just a timely book, but a necessary one if we as a culture are to save our youth. The insights and solutions offered for youth’s rapidly growing emotional pain displays the power, wisdom, and compassion from his extensive personal experience as a psychologist and educator. . . . The book provides compel¬ling reading for all caregivers devoted to relieving the ongoing suffering of today’s youth.”

—Ron Valle, PhD, professor and psychologist at the American School of Professional Psychology, author of Opening to Dying and Grieving: A Sacred Journey

“Running on Empty offers a unique understanding of the sources of our youth’s growing epidemic of despair and frustration. With depth and humor, the book reveals a way to end youth’s growing malaise, providing a hopeful pathway for their joyful transformation.”

—Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, professor of justice and peace studies and author of thirteen books, including Authentic Hope: Its the End of the World as We Know it, but Soft Landings Are Possible

“I’m in awe. . . . After eighteen years of working with young people and their parents, I finally have a resource that meets the needs facing young people that will help me minister holistically to families. This is a handbook for raising and empowering the next generation and bringing change to our world. Running on Empty presents an optimistic vision, a path of life, and the tools that just might make it a reality.”

—Rev. Tom Ewald, associate minister, Macalester Plymouth