SECRETS, DIARY OF A GUTSY TEEN
by Barbara
Becker Holstein
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Following in the footsteps of The Truth,
Secrets: Diary of a Gutsy Teen begins as the thirteen-year-old protagonist
makes a move with her family to a new town. She has grown up a lot over the
past year—and has made a list of everything that’s important to her now that
she doesn’t want to forget when she gets older. But now, as she enters her
early teen years, she begins to write down the secrets she wants to keep—and
the ones she has no one to tell about. From new school experiences to a new
baby in the family to a new crush, this new teen finally feels empowered on
making her own decisions with confidence and keeping those secrets she holds
dearest for herself.
In a positive and supportive diary-entry format, Dr. Barbara Becker
Holstein encourages tween and early teen girls to carry the most precious parts
of themselves into adulthood. A great book for mothers and daughters to read
together, Secrets is aimed to improve communication, understanding, and
self-esteem for young girls as they enter the rocky road of teenager-dom.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:
Date:
December 2
Dear Diary,
I have a secret and it’s been eating me up inside,
so I have to tell you. I lied to Angela. I told her I had a terrible sore
throat and couldn’t come for the weekend. She said she was sorry and that she
would invite me again.
I felt terrible, and then my throat really began
to hurt. But I just couldn’t go to Springport for a whole weekend_even though I
miss being around Angela.
Now that I have best friends here, I don’t feel
the same way I used to about going back to visit. And I didn’t know how to tell
Angela that. I could tell when we talked on the phone that she really wanted me
to come. And she sent me a new selfie, holding a sign that reads I Miss You! She even told me that she doesn’t have a new
best friend since I left. She really misses me. She also told me that Paul is
in lots of her classes and he asks if she’s talked to me. How could I tell her
I’m in love with Rob and don’t care about Paul anymore?
How could I tell her that I
have new best friends and want to stay here with them?
I did go to Sally’s instead, and we had the best
time. Her mother ordered pizza for us and we drank Coke. We watched television
and made popcorn and did each other’s hair with all of Sally’s older sister’s
hair products we found in the bathroom. I look silly with curly hair. We kept
laughing and falling on the floor and giggling, and we played this fun game
that Jackie learned in camp last summer. We all lay down on the floor and we
each put our head on someone else’s belly. Someone says, “Ha-ha,” and then the
next person says, “Haha-ha,” until everyone is laughing. Then you can’t stop
laughing because the belly you are on is bouncing all around under your head.
Sally’s mom got really angry at all the noise we
were making, and we had to turn off the lights and pretend to go to sleep. I
hardly slept a wink, though. I was so excited and having so much fun with my
new friends. I was tired the next morning and really did have a sore throat
when I went home, but I didn’t care. It was worth it to have so much fun.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GUEST POST:
The Girl writes in her diary:
"I
thought of another poem:
Love, it
comes and goes
But the
fire still burns
Deep
inside me, it never cools.
How hot
will the winds blow
Before I
have peace of mind?
I
think maybe I’ll be a poet when I grow up. Poems just seem to keep coming out
of me from somewhere. I don’t know where. It’s weird."
The
girl in Secrets, Diary of a Gutsy Teen is surprised to
discover that she has the capacity to create poems. I find that a lot of us
have talents that can surprise us at one time or another. In fact, I remember as a teenager waking up
in the middle of the night with a poem flowing through my head. I actually had to find a pen and paper and
jot it down. I was totally amazed. And my parents were also the next day.
One
of the great things about growing up is coming in touch with our talents. Sometimes they try to tell us they are there
and we ignore them. That is a shame
because you never know how a talent can come in handy. I certainly think my writing ability has
behind it a variety of talents, including spontaneous thoughts in the middle of
the night that sometimes rhyme!
So
stay alert to your talents and those of your kids. Who knows what great potential lurks in the corners
of our brains!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
I have been a
positive psychologist in private practice for the past thirty years. In the
course of working with my clients, I originated the idea of THE ENCHANTED
SELF(R), a positive psychology therapy where I teach people how to recognize
and utilize their strengths, talents, skills and even lost potential. I have
developed a number of methods, including using our memories to rediscover what
is right about ourselves and our lives, rather than what went wrong, helping
people to overcome adversity, experience positive emotions and live the good
life!
Since
developing this concept, I've been able to use many tools to bring the
Enchanted Self to everyone, particularly women and girls. I've written many
books, starting with THE ENCHANTED SELF, A Positive Therapy, and then Recipes
for Enchantment, The Secret Ingredient is YOU!
My books for girls are very popular, as they are great fictional reads
and also help deal with many of the questions that trouble kids as they move
into the tween and teen years. The
Truth, Diary of a Gutsy Tween and Secrets, Diary of a Gutsy Teen are the first
two books in this series.
I really love
to teach and educate about happiness and how to benefit from positive
psychology in ways that let us lead lives of meaning and happiness. You can
find me all over the place on the web.
3 comments:
Thanks for hosting!
Another great and true to life excerpt.
I like the excerpt. I moved as a kid too so I can relate to the girl's struggles.
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