"Mom, I Hate My Life!": Becoming Your Daughter's Ally Through the Emotional Ups and Downs of Adolescence (A Hand-in-Hand Book) [Paperback]

Sharon Hersh (Author)

Book Description

Series: A Hand-in-Hand Book | Publication Date: April 20, 2004

“I don’t know why my daughter is so angry. She yells at me all the time!”

“Our daughter comes home, goes straight to her room, turns on her CD player and won’t talk to anyone– especially me.”

“The emotional ups and downs of our daughter’s life make us all feel like we’re on a roller coaster.”

Navigating an adolescent daughter’s emotional life is one of a mom’s toughest challenges. A teenage girl’s volatile emotions can seemingly toss her–and you–like a hurricane. When a scary external world and a turbulent internal world collide, the result is sometimes overwhelming and confusing. What can you do to protect your relationship with your daughter, guide her through this chaotic time, and assure her you are truly on her side?

Your Adolescent Daughter’ s Struggles Can Help Her–and You–to Grow and Thrive.

The good news is you are equipped with the most powerful resource available for maintaining and developing connection with your daughter: a mother’s heart. Learn how you can use hand-in-hand mothering skills to become the ally your daughter needs–parenting out of love, not fear–and find out how you both can experience dramatic, life-changing growth in the process.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Being a teenage girl is more frightening than ever, says Hersh, a professional counselor and frequent speaker on adolescence. But mothers can be their daughters’ allies through this perilous time, helping girls navigate their confusion about body image, sexual awakening and emotional upheaval. In fact, Hersh believes that girls’ turmoil should be viewed as a golden opportunity to begin practicing involved "hand-in-hand mothering." Peppered with examples from her counseling practice and her own experiences as a mother to a teenage girl, Hersh’s book urges sensible compassion as mothers and daughters become companions on a mutual journey. She gives concrete and specific examples of how mothers can appropriately respond to their daughters’ pain and help them understand their feelings. Throughout, Hersh also offers a central Christian message that God’s love should be the foundation of girls’ and mothers’ identities.
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Review

“Peppered with examples from her counseling practice and her own experiences as a mother to a teenage girl, Hersh’s book urges sensible compassion as mothers and daughters become companions on a mutual journey. She gives concrete and specific examples of how mothers can appropriately respond to their daughters’ pain and help them understand their feelings. Throughout, Hersh also offers a central Christian message that God’s love should be the foundation of girls’ and mothers’ identities.”
–Publishers Weekly

“No one is more precious and disturbing to us than our children. There is no subject we are more desperate and fearful to enter than parenting. And there is no better book than ‘Mom, I Hate My Life!’ to honestly and hopefully guide you to hope. We all know our children face realities we could never have imagined and we rightfully need a wise, kind, and generous guide. Sharon Hersh lives and writes with brilliance, wisdom, and winsome wit. This book will allow you to encounter the rapids of your daughter’s adolescence with greater confidence and joy.”
–Dan Allender, author of How Children Raise Parents

“The two greatest complaints I hear from teens about their parents are these: ‘They don’t listen and they don’t understand.’ Sadly, those complaints are usually warranted. Sharon Hersh has once again done moms and daughters a great favor by providing a depth of understanding that can close the cultural/generational gap. No doubt, our girls are in crisis.
‘Mom, I Hate My Life!’ is a compelling cry that can help undo the crisis by challenging and equipping moms to meet their daughters’ deepest needs in the best way possible. But this isn’t just a book for moms. Dads, youth workers, and anyone else working with young girls will have their eyes opened to the painful realities of growing up female in today’s world.”
–Walt Mueller, founder and president of the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding and author of Understanding Today’s Youth Culture

“In an age where teens themselves struggle to put words to their own kaleidoscope of confusing emotions, this is a wonderful book for teen girls, parents, and counselors alike. I highly recommend it–it can save lives.”
–Christian Hill, parent and counselor, Alpine Connection Counseling

“Want to rebuild, restore, and refresh your relationship with your daughter? Countless moms and daughters will be blessed by this carefully crafted book. Sharon Hersh speaks hope into the mom-daughter relationship. You can have a trusting, rich relationship with your daughter–this book will show you how!”
–Gregory L. Jantz, Ph.D., author of Moving Beyond Depression and Hope, Help, and Healing for Eating Disorders

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Shaw Books; 1 edition (April 20, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877880239
• ISBN-13: 978-0877880233
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.5 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #478,545 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sharon A. Hersh M.A., LPC is a licensed professional counselor, speaker, and author. She has written several books, including the popular Bravehearts: Unlocking the Courage to Love with Abandon. She has written four books in the Hand-in-Hand Parenting series including, Mom, I Feel Fat!, Mom, I Hate my Life!, Mom, Everyone Else Does!, and Mom, Sex is NO Big Deal!. Her most recent book is The Last Addiction: Why Self-Help is Not Enough. She is an adjunct professor in graduate counseling courses, including Sex and Sexuality and Addiction at Colorado Christian University, Mars Hill Graduate School, and Reformed Theological Seminary. She is a sought-after speaker at conferences and retreats. Sharon lives in Lone Tree, Colorado.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars hope for "guilty" moms, August 19, 2004

By 

Shari Meserve (Littleton, Colorado) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: "Mom, I Hate My Life!": Becoming Your Daughter's Ally Through the Emotional Ups and Downs of Adolescence (A Hand-in-Hand Book) (Paperback)

We're all guilty of failing our daughters at points - what I loved about Sharon Hersh's book, is that she encourages us not to sit in self-condemnation or to jump to condemning our daughters, but to mother from a better place. Hersh's book acts as a guide, walking before us, as we seek to walk alongside our daughters. Instead of fearing, we can look forward to what we both can attain together. It is a gracious approach to parenting that left me with the desire to love my girls with a hopeful heart. And her practical suggestions for thought and discussion are most welcome. We even took the book on a mother-daughter road trip, and had dear talks that I believe will be rattling around in their brains for awhile. Thank you Ms. Hersh for giving your heart to the mother-daughter relationship.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book to give and recommend to Moms everywhere!, June 16, 2004

By 

Kindy R. Peaslee, RD (Saratoga Springs, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: "Mom, I Hate My Life!": Becoming Your Daughter's Ally Through the Emotional Ups and Downs of Adolescence (A Hand-in-Hand Book) (Paperback)

As a registered dietitian, I loved and continue to promote author, Sharon Hersh's book, "Mom, I Feel Fat" to mother's of teen girls who I work with. I could not put her new book down and reflected on the Moms I knew who needed to get a copy of this book. It is written in "real" language and Sharon bravely shares her stories between her and her own daughter, showing the reader a Mom who is real and has walked the talk. I especially liked Sharon's introduction in which she said that problems that may be faced with your daughter are not the end of the story but the beginning of a great adventure. Moms are encouraged throughout the book to believe in their daughter's "becoming" and are given workable ways to model positive behavior to their daughter and ultimately connect with their daughter no matter what the situation. Each chapter has a section for the reader to reflect and journal called 'Just for You' and another area for both mom and daughter to begin a conversation with 'Just for the two of you'. Sharon is not afraid to tackle the tough topics of eating disorders, cutting and self-injury, and depression, all issues that every Mom could face and may be living as she reads this book. For anyone working with adolescent girls or for the Mom who needs inspiration and tools to survive adolescence with her teen daughter, MOM, I HATE MY LIFE! will help prevent the " the loss of the daughter to the mother, the mother to the daughter, (which) is the essential female tragedy" as quoted by Adrienne Rich in Chapter 4.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Richly Rewarding!!!!, June 10, 2004

By 

Kathy Aldrich (Broomfield, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: "Mom, I Hate My Life!": Becoming Your Daughter's Ally Through the Emotional Ups and Downs of Adolescence (A Hand-in-Hand Book) (Paperback)

Author Sharon Hersh speaks to a mother's heart, from a mother's heart, and offers the wisdom we long for in a culture of so many unanswered questions about how to best love our daughters. The years of raising adolescents seem to so often trigger our own unresolved issues that it feels like the blind leading the blind. Hersh offers us the foresight, clarity and sensitivity to connect richly with our teen girls. Relevant and yet timeless, this book needs to get into the hands of every mother and mother-to-be of adolescent daughters!