Claim Your Inner Grown-Up: 4 Essential Steps to Authentic Adulthood [Paperback]

Ashley Davis Prend (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 12, 2001

In Claim Your Inner Grown-up, Ashley Davis Prend stands a tried-and-true concept on its head by offering a revolutionary, four-pillar program that dares readers to become adults.

An inspirational guide that provides guidance beyond the scope of most self-help books, Claim Your Inner Grown-up shows us how we can develop and improve our lives by becoming more mature, loving, responsible, and spiritual. By incorporating the DARE system into our lives (Detach, Alert, Reorient, Enact), we can become happier and more productive in the long term, and discover the satisfaction and fulfillment that quick-fix solutions don't provide. Through Prend's unique, liberating approach, we gain insight into our psyches and begin to develop a solid sense of self without giving up the positive, childlike qualities that also make us who we are.

A much needed antidote to the indulgent trends of the '80s and '90s, this wise, compassionate handbook will help readers become authentic adults without losing the innocence, freedom, and beauty that also comprise our best selves.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Prend offers guidance and encouragement without doctrine or dogma...a wise and warmhearted book. -- Harold Bloomfield, M.D., author of Making Peace with Your Past

About the Author

Ashley Davis Prend, A.C.S.W., is a psychotherapist and grief counselor, and the author of Transcending Loss: Understanding the Lifelong Impact of Grief and How to Make it Meaningful.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Plume (June 12, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452282500
• ISBN-13: 978-0452282506
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,949,461 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Thank you for visiting my "Author" page.

I am a licensed psychotherapist and grief counselor in private practice in Epping, New Hampshire. I am also the author of the self-help books "Shortcuts to Inner Peace", "Transcending Loss" and "Claim Your Inner Grown-up" (and its German version, "Erwachsen"). My work focuses on coping with losses, relatinships, dealing with stress, navigating transitions, searching for meaning, maximizing one's potential and finding inner peace.

I write a monthly newsletter called "Still Waters: Tools and Resources for Living Deeply" at my website http://www.ashleydavisbush.com. I'm also a contributing lifestyles writer to www.usdailyreview.com.

I love to sing and perform with local choral groups and community theatres.
My husband, Dan, and I have a blended family of five children and five pets!

Some background: I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Smith College and a Masters in Social Work degree from Columbia University. When I was younger I worked in community mental health in New York City for ten years and have been living, working and writing in southern New Hampshire since 1997.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Medicine can taste sweeter than you think..., June 14, 2001

By 

Sarah M "smelnyk" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Claim Your Inner Grown-Up: 4 Essential Steps to Authentic Adulthood (Paperback)

I was expecting a dry, medicine read when my well-meaning grandmother gave this to me. I thanked her instead. It took Ashley David Prend, A.C.S.W., to remind us that being a grown-up isn't unfun, uninspired and joyless, aka One Big Yawn. Quite the opposite! The inner grown-up is our link to liberating our spirituality, our ability to love more, and be more proudly productive (and playful). The most surprising part is that Prend doesn't decry the inner child as Evil or Bad - which is smart, since the inner child was the Muhammad Ali of self-help for quite some time and is a powerful reference point for most... Rather, she explains its importance, but its limits as well, and how it works in conjunction with the inner grown-up. This book was definitely informative, interesting, and original. It would inspire at least a few revelations in those who choose to pick it up, whether they like self-help books or not.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good premise, some details a bit unusual, June 13, 2001

By 

J. Rosenberg (Northeast OH United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Claim Your Inner Grown-Up: 4 Essential Steps to Authentic Adulthood (Paperback)

Overall, her ideas and the book itself are a good read. I can't say I agree with everything in the book, but it is a refreshing, and at times, a new look at psychobabble relating to the human condition as we go through tough times and not so tough times in life.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book for taking the next step, June 21, 2001

By 

"neverbluffs" (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Claim Your Inner Grown-Up: 4 Essential Steps to Authentic Adulthood (Paperback)

...In plain terms, Ms. Prend helped me to see what I've been doing wrong -- it's time to stop whining! My inner child needed a spanking. I'm putting her ideas to work in my life, and am really glad I found her book. I highly recommend this book for anyone who feels ready to accept the challenge of being an adult.