Customer Reviews

Realizing the Power of Love : How a Father and Teenage Daughter Became Best FriendsÂ…And How You Can Too!

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Realizing the Power of Love: How a Father and Teenage Daughter Became Best Friends...and How You can, Too! by the father-daughter writing team V. Michael Santoro and Jennifer Santoro offers its readers a roadmap for an important family dynamic: the relationship between fathers and daugthers.

Instead of having a fear-based conversation, the authors suggest helpful alternatives to the typical "Because I said so!" statements we exasperated parents use to silence our children. Narrated from the perspective of one hard-working father, the book acts as an intimate investigation into a specific relationship between father and daughter. While their story may not apply to every person's situation, I felt drawn to the narrative for its empowering simplicity. `Speak to your teen as an adult' resonated throughout the book. Offer guidelines, not a strict codex that only a military could enforce. Recognize your child's ability to handle things. Allow your child to make mistakes while acting as his or her safety net. It may be easier said, or written, than done, but the gentle reminder gives the reader a renewed perspective on a potentially troublesome area in parents' lives. Raising teens today is not easy, the authors admit. They survived the teen years with a lot of communication, some arguments, and a whole lot of trust. In an era of entrenched cynicism, Realizing the Power of Love is a breath of fresh air.


Christine Louise Hohlbaum, American-born book reviewer, award-winning writer and author of the world-renowned Diary of a Mother, lives near Munich, Germany with her husband and two children. Visit her Web site at http://www.diaryofamother.com for a taste of her empowering writings on parenting, living abroad, and the power of a bunny sticker at the end of your nose.