Age of Opportunity by Laurence Steinberg, Ph.D. (4 stars)

About Age of Opportunity

Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Eamon Dolan/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (September 9, 2014)

Adolescence now lasts longer than ever before. And as world-renowned expert on adolescent psychology Dr. Laurence Steinberg argues, this makes these years the key period in determining individuals’ life outcomes, demanding that we change the way we parent, educate, and understand young people.

In Age of Opportunity, Steinberg leads readers through a host of new findings — including groundbreaking original research — that reveal what the new timetable of adolescence means for parenting 13-year-olds (who may look more mature than they really are) versus 20-somethings (who may not be floundering even when it looks like they are). He also explains how the plasticity of the adolescent brain, rivaling that of years 0 through 3, suggests new strategies for instilling self-control during the teenage years. Packed with useful knowledge, Age of Opportunity is a sweeping book in the tradition of Reviving Ophelia, and an essential guide for parents and educators of teenagers.

Praise for Age of Opportunity

“As a mother of two boys and an educator, I am so grateful Laurence Steinberg has written this amazing book. He not only clearly and elegantly communicates the newest insights into understanding teenagers’ brains but also shows how adults can manage ourselves when we get frustrated with teens’ behavior.” — Rosalind Wiseman, author of Queen Bees and Wannabes and Masterminds and Wingmen

“Steinberg explains how ‘abnormal’ adolescent behavior is actually ‘normal.’ This book belongs on the shelf of every parent, teacher, youth worker, counselor, judge — heck, anyone interested in pre-teens and teenagers.” — David Walsh, Ph.D., author of Why Do They Act That Way?

“If you need to understand adolescents — whether your own or anyone else’s — you must read this book. Steinberg explains why most of our presumptions about adolescence are dead wrong and reveals the truth about this exciting and unnerving stage of life. Written with warmth, lucidity, and passion, Age of Opportunity will fill parents with relief by demystifying their children. Educators and policy-makers should study it carefully.” — Jennifer Senior, author of All Joy and No Fun

Purchase Links

Amazon | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble

Review

As the mom of three girls ages 14, 12, and 9, I am just beginning to see the ebbs and flows of the adolescent years. I am also the oldest of three girls, so I remember those years as well. Just in one generation, I am shocked by the new averages being thrown at me about when girls entered puberty. One pediatrician told me the average was getting closer to 9 than 10. 

Age of Opportunity supports the idea that the adolescent phase of life is getting longer. The author states, "The brain is radically transformed by stress hormones like testosterone and estrogen." This is certainly not new information, but when coupled with data supporting an elongated adolescence, it's significant.  I also found it interesting that while parents try to delay adolescence, society seems bent on a delayed adulthood.

Further studies show, and are illustrated in this book, that our brain is heightened during these years and captures the corresponding memories with vivid detail. In addition to all the brain studies, the book provides worrisome data comparing our teens to those in other industrialized countries.

At this point, I was convinced and craving solutions. After all, my kids are there and depending on me. I loved his basic principles: Be Warm, Be Firm, Be Supportive. It's the gray area that gets confusing. When is warm too warm (we create kids who go on American Idol and can't handle any critique and think they can sing even when faced with the reality that they can't) and firm too firm (although he does address that the punishment shouldn't be extreme and to be consistent and fair)? 

As a parent, we know what we should do in a perfect, calm environment. Unfortunately, too often the chaos and expectations of our time take center stage: pressure to perform in sports and academics, an overload of technology, and constantly changing education focuses (hello, Common Core). 

Overall, two-thirds of the book convinced me about a problem I suspected, while only one-third focused on possible solutions. I would have rather seen that flip-flopped.

If you are looking for a kick in the pants to search out parenting solutions to benefit your children, this is a great starting point. It's a book I'd love to see followed up by a manual with more specific solutions and examples for parents craving to make that difference.

Rating: 4 stars

About the Author

LAURENCE STEINBERG, a professor of psychology at Temple University, is the author of the leading textbook on adolescence, as well as over 350 scholarly articles and a dozen books. He has written for numerous publications, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and Psychology Today and is a regular guest on NPR.

Thanks to TLC for my review copy.

Note: I received a complimentary copy for review purposes. A positive review was not requested or guaranteed; the opinions expressed are my own.

Please visit other stops on the Age of Opportunity blog tour page.

Dear Friend: The Power of Pen Pals and Journaling by Cheri DeGroot Spotlight

Title: Dear Friend
Genre: Non-fiction humanities
Author: Cheri DeGroot
Publisher: iUniverse
Pages: 60
Language: English
ISBN – 978-1-44016-146-9

Are you looking for a way to meet new people from all over the world, make new friends, and help others? The solution is simple and affordable—become a pen pal. In Dear Friend, author Cheri DeGroot shares the joys and rewards of becoming a pen pal and provides tips on sharing friendships through handwritten letters.

Based on fifty-three years of personal experience as a pen pal, DeGroot details how her lifelong passion for pen palling began and how her friendships with people from all over the United States have helped her through life’s good and bad times. This guide demonstrates the positive aspects of pen palling—from sharing news of family, hobbies and emotions to expanding their knowledge by learning about different cultures and different people.

Stressing the importance of communication, Dear Friend reveals how becoming a pen pal can help those who are lonely to find friendship, love, and happiness through the power of the written word.

Purchase your copy

About the Author

 

Cheri DeGroot loves writing letters and journals of her life. Pen palling helps her make new friendships by reaching out through written letters and by computer. DeGroot has initiated several pen pal clubs. She has three grown children and seven grandchildren and lives in Milverton, Ontario, with her husband, Joe.

 

Pump Up Your Book and Cheri DeGroot are teaming

up to give you a chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card!

Terms & Conditions:

• By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
• One winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive one $25 Amazon Gift Certificate
• This giveaway begins December 11 and ends on December 25.
• Winners will be contacted via email on Thursday, December 26, 2013.
• Winner has 48 hours to reply.

Good luck everyone!

ENTER TO WIN HERE!

Please visit other stops on the Dear Friend blog tour page.

 

Thanks to Pump Up Your Book for including me on this blog tour.

Always Looking Up, Michael J. Fox (4 stars)

From Amazon: At the turn from our bedroom into the hallway, there is an old full-length mirror in a wooden frame. I can't help but catch a glimpse of myself as I pass. Turning fully toward the glass, I consider what I see. This reflected version of myself, wet, shaking, rumpled, pinched, and slightly stooped, would be alarming were it not for the self-satisfied expression pasted across my face. I would ask the obvious question, "What are you smiling about?" but I already know the answer: "It just gets better from here."

From the back cover: Michael J. Fox gained fame playing Alex P. Keaton on the sitcom Family Ties. His many other acting successes include the Back to the Future trilogy, and his award-winning lead role in Spin City, from which he retired in 2000. That same year, he launched the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, which has leapt to the forefront of the effort to find a cure. He is the author of a previous book, the #1 bestseller Lucky Man, and lives with his family in New York City.

Review
I grew up with Michael J. Fox. From Family Ties to the Back to the Future movies, he was one of my favorite comedic actors. When I found out about his Parkinson’s diagnosis, I was stunned. How could the forever young actor have such a debilitating disease? I couldn’t wrap my head around it.

So imagine how much trouble he had wrapping his head around it.

The book is broken up into four sections: Work, Politics, Faith, and Family. I’ll be honest, I could have done without the politics section. My dad always joked that you should never talk money or politics at a dinner party. In so many ways, it’s true. If you are preaching, you have to be prepared that you can lose the parts of your audience that don’t agree with you.

Politics aside, I really enjoyed the rest of the book and appreciated the breakdown of Fox’s experience into the realms of work, faith, and family. I admire how Fox stepped down from a hit television show because he knew it wasn’t fair to himself or the other actors and crew: “I didn’t want to make choices as an actor based on disability rather than ability.” He turned his love of acting into a determination to make a difference. What he has done to advance Parkinson’s research is highly commendable.

I also appreciated Fox’s frank talk about his symptoms and struggles. I never felt like he was sugarcoating his issues or over exaggerating them for effect. Some of the sweetest moments in the book are when Fox talks about his family and his enduring marriage to Tracy Pollen, his co-star on Family Ties.

An excerpt:

I feared it (Parkinson’s) most when I least understood it… Respecting it, however, doesn’t mean tolerating it. And you can only vanquish an enemy you respect, have fully sized up, and weighed by every possible measure.

His advice can be applied to so many people’s struggles. If you are facing any hardships in life, Fox’s perspectives and honesty can be both enlightening and empowering. A wonderfully inspiring read.

Rating: 4 stars

Note: For more information about the Michael J. Fox Foundation, please visit TheMichael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research website.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot (5 stars)

From Amazon: Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine. The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, they are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. If you could pile all HeLa cells ever grown onto a scale, they’d weigh more than 50 million metric tons—as much as a hundred Empire State Buildings. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb’s effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions.

Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave.

Now Rebecca Skloot takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the “colored” ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s to stark white laboratories with freezers full of HeLa cells; from Henrietta’s small, dying hometown of Clover, Virginia—a land of wooden slave quarters, faith healings, and voodoo—to East Baltimore today, where her children and grandchildren live and struggle with the legacy of her cells.
 
Nonfiction is not generally my cup of tea. Books are my escape into worlds created by the author, a respite from the demands of life. Nonfiction tends to feel like homework. Add a college-course-sounding subject like growing human cells, and it’s a recipe for major boredom.

Not in the hands of Rebecca Skloot. From the beginning, this book reads like fiction. Expertly alternating between Henrietta Lacks’ family and the science behind what happened, Skloot takes us on a journey of learning and caring. Never once did it feel textbook. Granted, she came across an interesting story. But in someone else’s hands, it could have easily been too scientific or judgmental. Skloot strikes a delicate balance between story and fact.

My heart broke for Deborah, Henrietta’s daughter, and the rest of the family. Their mom advanced science for all of us, yet they couldn’t afford healthcare or other needs. Henrietta’s kids were left without their mother at a young age, and lost their sister in a traumatic way. You want relief and a slice of happiness, at the very least, for them.

I love that Rebecca put herself in the book, her experiences so crucial to the story. Since the book is nonfiction and not historical fiction, we needed the author’s personal reflections and experiences regarding her research and getting to know the family. One of the most powerful scenes is one where Rebecca and Deborah are visiting a family friend and pastor. Deborah has been suffering from stress and poor health. To help ease her burden, he frees Deborah by giving the worry to Rebecca.

"'LORD, I KNOW you sent Miss Rebecca to help LIFT THE BURDEN of them CELLS!' He thrust his arms toward me, hands pointed at either side of my head. 'GIVE THEM TO HER' he yelled. 'LET HER CARRY THEM.' I sat frozen, staring at Gary, thinking, Wait a minute, that wasn't supposed to happen!"

Thanks to the author, readers don’t just get the technical aspects of Henrietta Lacks’ legacy. We see the journey of the family she left behind. Rarely do you find such emotional depth in a nonfiction book.

A highly recommended 5 stars.

For more information about the author and book, please visit the author's website.

Dipping My Toe into the Non-Fiction World

It's Monday and a new Musing Mondays question from Should be Reading.

What types of non-fiction do you read?

CHOICES: Mythology/Folklore, Travel/Locations, Humor, History, Art, Art history, Science including forensics, Gardening/Nature, Political, Financial/Economical, Religious, Self-help, How-to books, Books on writing, Biography, Autobiography, Sports, Architecture, Fitness/Exercise/Nutrition/ Beauty

Fiction wins hands-down in my reading pile. I love historical fiction and quite enjoy historical romance, but I don't tend to pick up non-fiction books. Sure, I read the occasional Gardening book. But I've yet to conquer my horrible inability to keep flowers and plants alive. I tend to get a lot of information on the non-fiction choices above from magazine and online articles versus books.

Still, I take friend recommendations seriously, and a dear Colorado friend (miss you, Eileen) recommended Five Sisters: The Langhornes of Virginia by James Fox. I loved it! Couldn't put it down. But, I must admit, it read like fiction to me. The story, true but well-told, captivated me. I posted about it, because I wished I had listened to my grandmother and written down all her stories. She was quite the storyteller, and fortunately passed this gift on to my mother. 

Most recently, I have started reading books on the craft of writing. This will be my biggest step into the non-fiction world. The two in my to-be-read pile are:

Becoming a Writer, Dorothea Brande
From the back cover: "published in 1934 on writing and the creative process, Becoming a Writer recaptures the excitement of Dorothea Brande's creative-writing classroom of the 1920s... Brande was teaching students how to see again, how to hold their minds still, how to call forth the inner writer." She herself defines the book by saying, "This book is all about the writer's magic."

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Stephen King
Highly recommended by many writer friends, I can't wait to dive into this one. From the back cover: "Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer's craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have... On Writing will empower and entertain everyone who reads it—fans, writers, and anyone who loves a great story well told."

Are you a non-fiction fan? What do you love about it? Please leave non-fiction recommendations below. Like Stephen King's book description, I just love a great story well told.