Book List:

A Tribe Apart
by Patricia Hersch

Difficulty: Average

This book is sub-titled "A Journey Into the Heart of American Adolescence". The author did a study of 8 teenagers in Virginia to gain an in-depth look into their culture and the pressures faced by teens in America today. There is a lesson all of us can take from Ms. Hersch's thoughtful observations.  I hope her book will encourage you to be as close as possible to your teen and give you some insight on how to do it.

Get Out of My Life (But First Could You Drive Me and Cheryl to the Mall?)
by Anthony E. Wolf, PhD.

Difficulty: Easy Reading

Dr. Wolf's book is a guide for parents to help you survive day-to-day when living with teenagers. He writes with a wonderful mix of compassion and humor that tells you "he's been there”.  His descriptions are instantly recognizable by anyone who is trying to raise a teenager!  It helps to know that you are not the only one feeling like this. A few parts may be a little bit dated but this book will help you to keep your sanity.

Lost at School: Why Our Kids with Behavioral Challenges Are Falling Through the Cracks and How We Can Help Them
by Ross W. Greene, Ph.D.

Difficulty: Average

Dr. Greene presents his style of helping children which he calls the Collaborative Problem-Solving Approach. He is able to illustrate his points using case vignettes which offer hope that school systems and individual parents can make this work. He has an empathetic approach that acknowledges the immense frustration which accompanies a lack of skill. My favorite nugget is the recognition that a child will do well if s/he can do well, and if the child knew what to do, then s/he would do it. He will help you to view your child's behavior as communication and help you to puzzle out exactly what is being communicated. Dr. Greene's first book,"The Explosive Child", could be characterized as a "best seller" among the helping professionals who work with children, and I recommend that too.

Mindfulness for Beginners
by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD.

Difficulty: Easy Reading

Again a sub-title; this one is "Reclaiming the Present Moment~and Your Life".  As a parent, who doesn't want THAT? This book will help you to focus your mind and to learn some skills that will last you throughout your life, and improve the overall quality of it. And you can teach these skills to your children. In the South Hadley School District, we are paying some attention to mindfulness in our daily work with your students and I encourage you to explore this for yourself. The science is behind this approach; reference "the relaxation response" with Dr. Herbert Benson from Harvard University. It is the same mindfulness skill, and Dr. Benson has brought the weight of Harvard research to show the positive effects this practice has on mind and body. In his introductory book, Dr. Kabat-Zinn offers brief chapters which make it simple to enter into this view. This book offers an easy-to-understand explanation of how to begin, and there's even a CD included to talk you through some practice steps.

Queen Bees and Wannabes
by Rosalind Wiseman

Difficulty: Easy Reading

Girls deserve their own book, and this is definitely the one you want to have. Walk into the world of the female teen with Ros and you will never see things the same way again. She has an uncanny ability to decipher "girl world" in a way that parents can actually connect with. Her writing is light and funny and her insights are amazing. Okay, I've met her and done training with her several times so I am not unbiased, but her viewpoint has famously been captured in the film "Mean Girls" (she was a consultant in the production) so she was discovered by others long before me. If you read her, you will understand why that hit song "Call Me Maybe?" makes sense. And many other trends too!

The Good Son
by Michael Gurian

Difficulty: Average

The sub-title of this book is "Shaping the Moral Development of Our Boys and Young Men". The author has written on the subject of boys, both for parents and for boys themselves, in titles such as "A Fine Young Man", "The Wonder of Boys", "Understanding Guys", and "From Boys to Men". As a mother of three sons myself, I can tell you that they need a focus specific to their own development and Mr. Gurian is a therapist and educator who is up to that task. His book provides direct information, interpretation and parenting tips for those of us who are raising boys.