Am I Weird or Is This Normal? Advice and Info to Get Teens in the Know [Paperback]

Marlin S. Potash (Author), Laura Potash Fruitman (Author), Lisa Sussman (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 21, 2001

"Am I Weird or Is This Normal?" is for every girl who has ever wondered whether all the stuff that's happening to her body, feelings, and relationships is normal -- and who's seeking the 411 that will get her in step with life.

"Am I Weird or Is This Normal?" is like being a part of a private conversation where you get answers and advice about all the stuff that's on your mind.

Everyone feels strange, embarrassed, and just plain weird at times. It's just that no one likes to talk about it. Except for Dr. Marlin, a psychologist specializing in teens, and Laura, her teenage daughter who has been in the trenches dealing with boys, school, her parents' divorce, and friends. This dynamic duo give the lowdown on everything so that you can handle all the sticky situations that crop up on the way to womanhood.

By giving you a look into other girls' experiences, "Am I Weird or Is This Normal?" will walk you through the options you have when you're:

Uncertain about dating and sexFaced with alcohol and other drugsFeeling jealousFighting with your friends and familySmack in the middle of life's other awkward moments

With uplifting mantras you can pull out whenever you need them, Dr. Marlin and Laura help you -- and those who love you -- get through life by seeing that weird is normal.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Wouldn't it be fantastic if you could talk to your mom honestly and frankly about topics like first French kisses, or what boys look like naked? Well, high school teen Laura Potash Fruitman can, and she has decided to share these conversations with girls everywhere in this self-help manual for female teens, Am I Weird or Is This Normal? Laura's mom is Manhattan psychotherapist Marlin S. Potash, and using tag-team techniques, she and Laura give a crash course in Teen Trauma 101, covering every topic from puberty and sex to making friends and choosing colleges. Both Potashes emphasize the positive message that being weird is normal, because "everyone feels that they are different," but the book is at its best when the two disagree, resulting in humorous interchanges that often lighten their serious subject matter. What mother-daughter team Lynda and Area Madaras did for puberty (the revolutionary What's Happening to My Body? books) Marlin and Laura Potash have done for 21st century grrrlhood. But grrrls, keep in mind that this no-embarrassing-stone-unturned treatment of teen issues and sexuality is probably best kept among best girlfriends--parents may blush over the detailed section on oral sex. While the exuberant authors needed a little more help with chapter placement (the sections on sex, STDs, and rape precede the chapter that should probably come first--puberty, periods, and nutrition) there's no doubt that they sincerely care about their female adolescent audience, and that Am I Weird is an excellent girl guide for the thoroughly modern miss. (Ages 14 to 18) --Jennifer Hubert

From Publishers Weekly

In Am I Weird or Is This Normal?: Advice and Info to Get Teens in the Know, Marlin Potash and his 16-year-old daughter, Laura Potash Fruitman, with Lisa Sussman, touch on, among other things, dating, drugs, money, college admissions, eating disorders, friendship and sex. Pressing questions are followed by honest answers from the psychologist and the teenager, each experts in their own way. Sidebars provide helpful tips, checklists and straightforward discussions.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Fireside; 1 edition (August 21, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743210875
• ISBN-13: 978-0743210874
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,983,389 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally someone's figured out that weird is normal!, September 5, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Am I Weird or Is This Normal? Advice and Info to Get Teens in the Know (Paperback)

Well, I didn't finish my back-to-school reading because I stayed up all night reading this book. I thought I knew it all (I'll admit that to you guys, but I never said that, ok?), but I just loved this book! IT starts with a bunch of what they call Lifelist points that are sprinkled throughout the book that really speak to a lot of things that bug me about my life these days, kind of like pointers on how to deal.I learned a lot of really specific tips about communicating with your parents that I definitely plan on trying. But what I really liked best about this book is that it doesn't talk down to teenagers or assume we're all alike. It gives in depth information (the sex section is especially incredible), and the advice is usually from both a teenager and a psychologist point of view. I'd recommend this book to anyone who is a teenager or wants to understand the pressures teenagers are under. This is one fantastic book!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Being a teen was bad enough, but raising one..., August 31, 2001

By 

marc jablon, parent (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Am I Weird or Is This Normal? Advice and Info to Get Teens in the Know (Paperback)

What Dr. Spock was to babies, Dr. Potash and her daughter are to teenagers. Their book, Am I Weird or Is This Normal, recounts the joys (there were at least two) and the problems (I dont think the number has yet been discovered by mathematicians) of owning a teenager. I found myself alternately cringing and rocking with laughter as I made my way, with some trepidation, through this enlightening and entertaining narrative. Warning to parents: the sexual escapades of the teens who were interviewed may not be suitable for your delicate sensibilities. Warning to teenagers: all your secrets are revealed, so beware the fully informed parent. If youre a parent who has teenagers or children on the verge of teendom, this book may cause you to put your kids up for sale on e-bay. However, if youre at the stage where youre merely contemplating having children, this book will give you ample time to prepare yourselves. And, if youre a teenager, youll not only find examples of your own escapades, but of a few you only dreamed about. And theyre all for real. And yes, believe it or not, this is all normal. So hold on to your hair, dudes and dudettes, because youre in for a wild read.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What moms need to know..., May 20, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Am I Weird or Is This Normal? Advice and Info to Get Teens in the Know (Paperback)

Yes, it's difficult to face it, but my daughter's growing up. I don't want her to do drugs, have sex, develop an eating disorder. I'd rather she stay innocent and pure - and that the world would let her develop at her own, leisurely, sweet pace.
But in the meantime, there's the real world of Britney Spears getting more pumped up daily (and my daughter being fed pictures of her as if she's 'real'), assaults on her sense of trusting in her own timing when it comes to sex with tv shows and magazines acting as if she's backward if she doesn't 'hook up.' So my thinking is this: information is power. The more she knows, the less likely she is to be pushed into doing what she isn't ready for or doesn't want to do.
AND THIS BOOK REALLY GIVES THE FACTS SO SHE CAN MAKE HER OWN CHOICES!
I read it. She read it. Her guy friends read it. Her father read it. And we've been talking about it ever since. Not bad for a book. Not bad, indeed. I highly recommend this book - and an open-mind and open ears for listening - I surely learned a lot!