'And Then I Had Teenagers' by Susan Alexander Yates

I downloaded this book thinking, why not, I have teenagers and it's free. After reading it, I would have paid for it.

I went into the reading of this book skeptical. After all, how could someone else possibly know what MY teenager is like? The book started off seemingly slow: I wanted to author to give me a how-to manual, complete with a 'when this happens, do this'. At the beginning, the focus is more on practical advice for laying the foundation. It was only after I started getting into the how-to's that I understood why the beginning of the book was necessary.

But I got one side effect from this book that I didn't expect: it made me feel not quite so alone. I'm NOT the only parent of a teenager, walking through the dark and questioning every decision. I'm not the only one who's child changed overnight. And just knowing others are going through it (and have survived!) was comforting. Trying to parent a child in a Christian household when the world pulls (extremely hard) in the other direction is daunting, and it's nice to know I am not alone. It's not a popularity contest, which I have always known, but got comfort in having it reinforced.

I'm also glad that I waited a few days after reading this book before I wrote a review. In the days following, I found myself often going back to some of the advice and principles in the book, which surprised me. I didn't think it had that much of an effect. Because of this, I rate this book 4 stars. The writing was repetitive at a few points, and it wasn't a quick page turner, but this time my rating is based off of sheer usefulness.

Side note: this is a guide for Christian parenting. If you are not a believer, you would still benefit from this book, but it applies the principles set forth by God