From Publishers Weekly
A former student of esteemed girl expert Carol Gilligan, Harvard researcher Machoian sets out to determine why so many young women seem to emotionally withdraw and to explain how parents and others can help them. According to Machoian, teenage girls begin to "disappear" when they feel disconnected from friends or family, and when the pressures of society (fitting in, staying thin, etc.) become overwhelming. Often, she's discovered, the trouble starts when girls shift from grade school to middle school, or middle school to high school. Though parents and others may see a girl's problems as natural "teen angst," Machoian warns that too often a girl's serious depression is ignored (in the past, she points out, experts did not even believe that teens experienced depression). Fortunately, Machoian claims, there is much adults can do to help, and interspersed among the text's rather weighty case histories are numerous tips for a "whole-girl approach," addressing mind, body, heart and soul with practical solutions. Physical activities, volunteering, proper sleep and diet, supportive peers, coping skills and being with family are all ways to keep girls on track. Most important, Machoian says, parents who listen and talk to their daughters make a crucial difference.
(On sale Mar. 21) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
It's old news that adolescence brings with it a host of physical, cognitive, and emotional changes. But Machoian, a Harvard researcher and lecturer, insists that teenage girls' "vulnerability to depression in early adolescence" is serious enough to warrant special attention. Her book, which blossomed from research she did for her dissertation, gives parents a heads up that may help them make the difficult distinction between normal teen angst and the circumstances that signal real trouble. She focuses predominately on ages 14, 15, and 16, amplifying her text with personal stories and commentary that bring an immediacy to the emotions and pressures that today's young women have in common. Throughout, she makes it clear that there is no universal panacea, but at the same time, she remains optimistic about the resilience of young women and the ability of their parents, equipped with the right kind of information, to weather difficult times.
Stephanie ZvirinCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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