"It sounds like a stupid title, but it teaches you a lot of things about life." (Lynn, MA, 15-yr.-old boy)

"Loving Well takes the normal English curriculum and blows it out into the real world." (Paul Patinaude, teacher, Dudley, MA)

"Loving Well is one of the most exciting places of discovery that I have experienced in sixteen years of teaching. To me, it's been fascinating, an adventure that I could not have predicted before I started teaching this curriculum." (Phyllis Kutt, Teacher, Brookline, MA)

"I have learned a lot from the Loving Well program. I can now get along better with people and I can do more things on my own. My Mom and Dad can see the changes in me and are proud of me for making good changes in my life." (Yarmouth, ME, high school junior)

"I've learned from [several] stories that sex and sexuality are often used as means of combating strong negative emotions, such as fear and loneliness...." (Fitchburg, MA 18-yr.-old girl)

"I've gained self confidence and self esteem just by dealing with situations within the program. (Adams, MA, 8th grader)

Bath, ME 8th graders:

"I know I don't have real love now. Loving Well made me realize that. I just now realize how young I am and how I'm not physically or mentally ready for anything that demanding. Before reading Loving Well I didn't care and thought 'Why not?' But now I'm glad I never gave in and now I know I don't want to. I want to wait."

"I've learned that you have to communicate for marriage to work. The other thing is that love takes time and having sex or getting married doesn't fix your problems."

"I learned that there could be some nice experience waiting for me, but be careful, don't listen to peer pressure, and think before I do something."

"...I have learned from Loving Well that if you have a relationship problem or a family problem, that there is a way that we can solve that problem."

"I learned how to talk to my mother about things more freely and easier...."

"I have learned that I have to start now to figure my future and my values. I also learned that you shouldn't do something you don't want to do just because your friends are."

"I did, at one time, think sex was a joke that didn't really mean too much to my body. Since Loving Well I've learned that sex is serious and should not be taken lightly."

"This book did make me think "What am I doing with my life, it's just going down the drain."

Williamstown, MA, 8th grade girls:

"What I have learned from Loving Well about relationships is that I should not be rushed into anything. I should take my time and do the right thing even if I want to do something else."

"I hope when I have kids, the Loving Well program is still around."

"I really enjoyed the Loving Well course. It really teaches us a lot about how to love well. I think "Ben's Story" and "Judy's Story" had the biggest impact on me because I know now what a horrible mess it can be to be pregnant when you're still in school. I think this course probably prevented at least one eighth grade pregnancy. My favorite stories were "Appointment with Love" and "Beauty and the Beast" because one of my weakest points is judging people by the way they look. Or that was my weakest point anyway. Now I see the logic of the saying, 'You can't judge a book by it's cover.' I think the Loving Well course should be taught in every eighth grade class in the world."

"I LOVED IT11 I really and truly loved it. I definitely looked forward to class each day.... For a few months I felt good about myself and got in contact with my feelings.

Williamstown, MA, 8th grade boys:

"I am more of a listener than a talker and I think I have experienced a lot out of this program and I would love to do it again. I enjoyed most of the stories even though I forgot to read some."

"I think that relationships are the most complex things ever thought up besides computers."

Dudley, MA, 8th grade boys:

"The one thing I learned from this is to try and have mature and responsible relationships and that is the one thing that I am going to definitely try to put my heart into because I don't want to end up being like Ben and being a father when I'm a teenager."

"In one story a kid sacrificed something for his brother because he cared about him. I learned that life is too short, and you should try once in a while to do something nice for someone."

"I have always wondered about what's right and what's wrong and Loving Well simply steers you in the right direction. It made me wonder if my past relationships were founded on love or infatuation. Certainly there are different types of love: family, friendships, girlfriends/boyfriends or different degrees. And I had to realize that each one is different, but in a sense the same. You must put that same effort and care into each kind. And the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. And there is truly so much you get out of it--confidence, security, knowledge, respect, love returned."

"In a way I felt that girls were beautiful but helpless. Loving Well made me think about that and realize women deserve respect as equals in a relationship. Being able to look at my ideas from a distance made me prove some of them wrong. I also learned that girls are not sex objects, much as teenage boys think. Knowing this helped me make the decision not to have sex."

"Judy's and Ben's stories helped me to make the decision not to have sex. About a week after we finished Loving Well a girl offered to have sex on a weekend when her parents weren't home. I had my share of time in the batters box and had hit a triple and some doubles before the program. On that night my pants took over and led me to her house. I had a condom but even this time I was scared. I won't go into details but it turns out we didn't do it. She was afraid of losing me and so she wanted to keep me by you know. We talked and we are doing better in our relationship."

"If it weren't for Loving Well, I could be a father!"

Dudley, MA, 8th grade girls:

"I learned that I am not the only one who feels awkward at times around guys and that it is okay to be confused about life altogether."

"I do not have an average family relationship and always had trouble trying to deal with things at home, but after being in Loving Well, it's helped me get along a little better with my family...."

"The one thing I learned about relationships is that you should always be yourself. I always...tried to act like I thought people wanted me to act. I just, not too long ago, started to be the me I really am, mostly due to Loving Well. I find that my friends do like me and not the person I acted like."

"I think that early relationships between boys and girls don't last forever because most of them are based on infatuation and not love. A good relationship will not put pressure on either of the members. Couples who believe that they must have sex for their relationship to last are foolish."

"I learned many things about relationships. In dealing with family relationships, I learned that your family can love you even though sometimes it may not appear that way. From the story "If Only" I learned that even though my brother is a pest, he looks up to me and wants me to like him. From "Briar-rose" I know that my parents are only trying to protect me because they love me. Boy and girl relationships now have a somewhat different perspective in my mind. Giving in to a boy can cause trouble, and standing up for your rights can bring you closer or in Chuck and Helen's case, not standing up can make you farther apart. I understood the difference between love and infatuation and even friendship and love. In general, I learned what makes a relationship right and wrong."

"I learned practically nothing from this Loving Well book. I have already learned this stuff...by living my life and making mistakes.... I guess I wish this book would have come out a lot earlier so I wouldn't have to go through the things I did to learn about it."