Customer Reviews

The Agony and the Agony: Raising Your Teenager without Losing Your Mind

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

So, in some sort of miracle of timeing, I was lamenting the horrible change that has come over my daughter, this month - the month she turned 12. Somehow I'm not the 'wonder' mom I used to be. I'm now someone who needs to be tolerated and improved by my 'cool' daughter. Nothing I do is right, I don't eat right, drive right, have any taste in clothes - nothing. Lamenting the loss of my sweet precious child...to this...demon preteen...I walked into my local bookstore and saw this book - THE AGONY and the AGONY: Raising your teenager without losing your mind. I turned the book over and saw the three things her teenager said, and they were exactly what my daughter had just said to me last week! I sat down in the bookstore and started reading the book as if my sanity depended upon it. Then I bought it. Then I called up my friends with 12 year old daughters and read it to them. I LOVE THIS BOOK. It's funny and insightful and will help you realize your not alone. Thank you Betty L for writing this book!

Our son was fifteen and one of us wasn't going to make it. I headed to the bookstore seeking some source of authority and wisdom (or at least someone to commiserate with). I found two books. One was written by a psychologist; it was filled with scientific explanations and was mildly comforting. The other was Betty Londergan's "The Agony and the Agony." It was overflowing with humor, insight, advice, and unexpected brilliance. I'm still alive. My son is still alive. I think I bought the right book.

Betty Londergan has done it again! She's made her book of advice for bewildered parents into a helpful, hysterical guide that will have you laughing at the same time as you're learning something that you can actually use. We've all experienced some of the scenarios that she describes, and now we know that we really will live through it, and maybe end up with semi-healthy relationships with our kids! There's a lot to make you laugh, but there are also many insightful passages that reassure and guide the clueless parent. Thanks, Betty---you've guided us through the kiddie years, and now the teens---I'm looking forward to what's next!!

If you are a parent of a teen, living at home, you surely know how difficult it is to guide them and accept their oftentimes difficult and unacceptable behavior. This book is extremely helpful and to the point, at the same time it is treated with humor and understanding and finally, oh yes, finally, the hope that it will not last forever, but hopefully sooner than you might think, they will finally grow up and in time they will be dealing with similar issues with their own children. I have read a number of books on adolescent behavior and problems, and find this to be a calming and in the middle of the storm kind of book. Read it and learn from it and trust yourself that you will be able to survive. Good luck.

Just about the time that our sweet young boy began to be intermittently possessed by a sullen, remote, monosyllabic video gamer, and about the same time that parents of our son's friends reported an eerily similar body-snatcher type scenario in their own kid's bedroom, we came across this wonderful book. How grateful we are for the level headed advice and the many personal examples, delivered with such candor and good humor. One can dip in anywhere , read some passages on Coping Skills , Boundary Violations or Choosing Your Battles, and you'll quickly discover your anxiety level decreasing as you recognize yourself in the many colorful first person anecdotes, and by the empathic, warm hearted and plain spoken encouragement that follows. All delivered in a witty , wise voice that both validates and illuminates. We've even been gifting copies to our friends with pre-adolescents . We tell them to not be afraid, just think of this book as a "what to expect when you're expecting.. teen-agers".

This book is WONDERFUL!!!!! I've read it so many times and keep it on my nightstand to read after an incredibly hard day with my teenaged son. I only have to read a few pages to feel better...it makes me laugh and realize that I'm not the only parent going through this and everything will be okay.

I've been reading lots of books on parenting a teenager. Some were excellent in affecting behavioral changes and if you are looking for that type of book this isn't the format. However, if you want a book to relate to with a humorous slant, read this. Every other page, I keep thinking this book is talking about my daughter exactly, I can't believe it !! I highly recommend it for all parents to keep their sanity..

My son just turned 12 and I thought that an alien had replaced him overnight. But after reading Betty's book I learned how to laugh more, and resolved to expect imperfection from my growing child. As others have said, it felt like the author was sitting on my sofa writing all of these things as an observer of my very family! She is so spot-on regarding teen development, and I feel a sense of comfort that I am not alone. I downloaded the ebook on my Kindle for Android, and unfortunately I am not able to view the images, which apparently are contributed stories from former teens and parents. I like the book so much and want my husband to read it, so I will be buying a hard copy as well. This is the kind of book you can read, and then lend out to other parents of teens so everyone benefits--and retains their sanity during these difficult years of child rearing.

I loved this book. I wasn't expecting the witty humor that the author so easily incorporated about real-life experiences dealing with teenagers. I found myself laughing out loud chapter after chapter and couldn't put it down until I was finished. Not necessarily a traditional book about dealing with teen antics, but definitely one that will make you take yourself (and your life with a teenager) a little less seriously. Worth the read for sure!

read her first book and thought it was very funny. Loved reading her second book until I got to page 138. I took offense as she referred to teenagers as"domestically retarded". As a parent of a daughter with a disability I was so disappointed from that point on... I could not really enjoy the rest of the book as much as I really tried to put that aside...