Palmetto Publishing, based in Charleston, South Carolina, in the United States, has released Becoming a Man, a workbook by Leslie Grace Eggenberger that a young man and a trusted adult complete together. The book sets out five principles of grounded manhood through shared reflection and practice.
How the workbook is designed#
Each partner fills in their own pages and then shares their reflections with the other. The book is available now in print and online.
Rather than focusing on criticism of toxic masculinity, the book offers a practical framework for what grounded masculinity can look like in daily life. Each of the five principles is explained and then applied through somatic practices, daily and weekly exercises, tracking tables, journaling prompts, and conversations meant to be shared.
The five principles#
Eggenberger organises the framework around the following principles:
- Presence
- Purpose
- Proactivity
- Provision
- Clarity
Candle meditations, body check-ins, and silent walks appear alongside a pacing guide for working through one principle at a time.
A gap in guidance#
The book addresses what Eggenberger describes as a gap in guidance. Boys receive critique, performance pressure, and fragmented models of masculinity, with little instruction on what grounded manhood looks and feels like. Eggenberger argues that good character does not arrive automatically and that practice, not criticism, is what raises boys.
The adult is not positioned above the process. Any adult who walks beside the young man, including a father, mother, mentor, coach, grandparent, aunt, or uncle, does the practices too, including the harder ones. One example is sharing difficult emotions within forty-eight hours rather than letting them harden into resentment.
Author’s message#
Eggenberger said:
“I want young men to know they are allowed to be whole. I want them to be strong and soft, to feel deeply, and to learn how to express those feelings with care and responsibility. The point is not to reject masculinity, but to define what a healthy version of it looks and feels like. This workbook invites them to do that alongside an adult who is willing to guide them.”
Intended readers#
The book is written for adult guides to read alongside young men, from as young as 6 years old through adulthood. It is classified in the parenting and fatherhood category. Fathers and male mentors are a natural audience, but the workbook is also written to include mothers, guardians, and female mentors.
The book is also written in a tone familiar to readers of personal growth, mindfulness, and emotional intelligence literature. It addresses ongoing public debate over boys, masculinity, and mental health by offering structured practice in place of commentary.
About the author#
Eggenberger is a Certified Trauma-Informed Life Coach and a Certified Transformational Leader. She holds a Master’s Degree in Happiness Studies and is the mother of two sons, Jacob and Max, to whom the book is dedicated. She first picked up a book on personal development at fourteen, in Guatemala City, and says that question of what helps people flourish has remained central to her work.
In 2017, she walked her son to school in Winter Springs, Florida, wearing a T-Rex costume. News coverage followed, and she became known as “T-Rex Mom.” She said the purpose was for her sons to see someone express herself without fear of being judged for it, a lesson she says the workbook also teaches.
Publication details#
- Title: Becoming a Man
- Author: Leslie Grace Eggenberger
- Publisher: Palmetto Publishing
- Publication date: 27 October 2026
- ISBN (International Standard Book Number): 9798318831829
- Retailers: Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com
- Author website: www.bookbecomingaman.com
- Social media: Facebook (Becoming A Man) and Instagram (@becomingamanbook)
Eggenberger is available for interviews.
