Truth: Diary of a Gutsy Tween! (+$20 Amazon GC!)

Title: Truth

Author: Barbara Becker Holstein

Series: Diary of a Gutsy Tween

Pages: 176

Date Published: July 1st 2014

Publisher: Sky Pony Press

Format: Hardcover

Genre: Contemporary YA

Source: Goddess Fish Blog Tours
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Synopsis:
Growing up is tough. Adults don’t always understand you (even though they were once kids), and children today face increasing pressure to be, look, or act a certain way. Written in the voice of a girl on the cusp of becoming a teenager, The Truth provides young girls with an opportunity to see how a girl, who is in many ways like themselves, handles her toughest problems and most personal thoughts. Each new page brings forth a discussion to help girls handle everyday problems: How do you survive a bully? How do you handle a crush on a boy? What can you do about relentless teasing by your peers? What really matters as you grow older?

In a positive and supportive diary-entry format, Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein encourages tween girls to carry the most precious parts of themselves into adulthood. A great book for mothers and daughters to read together, The Truth is aimed to improve communication, understanding, and self-esteem for young girls as they enter the rocky road of teenager-dom.

~Guest Post!~

The Truth, Diary of a Gutsy Tween is part of my life work.  A large part!  You may wonder how can that be? After all, what's in a girl's diary that is so compelling?  Isn't it just filled with all the angst that goes with growing up?

Sure, The Truth, Diary of a Gutsy Tween does have a lot of the push and pull agonies of going to school, worrying about homework, resenting parents, dealing with emotions that the girl never expected, like falling in love.  It probably has within it some of the feelings and ideas you had as a kid.  And I'm sure the girl has feelings and concerns that weren't on your plate.  After all, everyone's life experience is different and unique.

So what is it that makes this book so compelling, to be the author, the inventor of the character, the girl?  I think the answer does lie in the secret world of childhood that we have all passed through.  Kids really do know a lot about life.  They very often realize their parent's fights are stupid and waste time.  They often realize that a teacher is biased or unfair.  They recognize when adults are fibbing.  I could go on and on.  The point is that there is a wisdom in childhood that is very valuable and can help us for the rest of our lives if we can just remember it.

Many of our family squabbles are silly.  Oftentimes we let a mood spoil a day or an opportunity.  Sometimes we forget to be nice.  We forget to listen to what our kids are trying to express.  And we all pay the price.

How? We may not get to know and enjoy our kids as we should.  The fun ratio can go down as well as our opportunity to share with our kids our wisdom, memories, sense of humor, talents, etc.

We may not listen to our kids at critical points in their development.  A child playing video games all the time may really be saying, "Mom, dad, what about me? Why aren't you available to do things with me, to let me cuddle when I need to? Where are you?"

So I hope you begin to see that The Truth, Diary of a Gutsy Tween is a pathway to help kids and their parents meet more than half way.   As girls read the book they identify with the girl who has written the diary.  As parents read they book they remember themselves growing up. As kids and parents share pages in the book they laugh, cry and get to know each other better.  Doors open between the generations and kids and parents have told me that not only is wisdom and stories exchanged, but there is that wonderful sense of connection that happens when people really attend to what each other is sharing.

For me, this is bliss.  This is purpose as a positive psychologist and an author.  I feel blessed by the appearance of the girl!  She is part me, but believe me, she is also part you and part your daughter!

~Try an Excerpt!~

Date: June 27

Dear Diary,

I can’t believe it. Today we moved, and I feel like I’m in a dream. I just keep walking around our new house and wondering when we will go home. It feels so different and strange. Everything is on one floor (that’s called a ranch house). The floors are all bare wood. My mom said our rugs would look terrible here so she let the people who bought our old house keep them. I think she was probably right. They were a dark maroon and the walls here are a light cream. I don’t think that would look good. I went to the bathroom three times since we got here and every time I used a different bathroom. I can’t believe it. Three different toilets in the same house! Only my friend Susan, my rich friend, had more than two bathrooms in her house. And four bedrooms! And a family room. I can’t believe we have this much space now.

When I look out of the windows I expect to see the shrubs and the Hudson’s house who were next to us on the left, but I don’t. Instead, I see a big open field that will probably have houses built on it by next year. That’s what my dad said anyway. And when I look out to the right I expect to see our clothesline and the Dixon’s driveway, but instead I see rose bushes and a wooden bench under a tree that the last owners said we could have.

Tonight, we had to eat supper off paper plates and use plastic forks, knives, and spoons because our boxes are still packed. My aunt made us a big picnic basket full of food and that’s what we ate for supper. It was delicious. There was fried chicken, potato salad and potato chips, cupcakes for dessert, and fruit salad. And at the bottom of the basket under the ice was a whole package of Hershey Kisses. Yum!

My brother already started to play with a kid next door who’s about a year older than he is. He’s so lucky. I have no new friends yet and that’s the truth!

~Meet Barbra!~ 

I have been a positive psychologist in private practice for the past thirty years. In the course of working with my clients, I originated the idea of THE ENCHANTED SELF(R), a positive psychology therapy where I teach people how to recognize and utilize their strengths, talents, skills and even lost potential. I have developed a number of methods, including using our memories to rediscover what is right about ourselves and our lives, rather than what went wrong, helping people to overcome adversity, experience positive emotions and live the good life!

Since developing this concept, I've been able to use many tools to bring the Enchanted Self to everyone, particularly women and girls. I've written many books, starting with THE ENCHANTED SELF, A Positive Therapy, and then Recipes for Enchantment, The Secret Ingredient is YOU!  My books for girls are very popular, as they are great fictional reads and also help deal with many of the questions that trouble kids as they move into the tween and teen years.  The Truth, Diary of a Gutsy Tween and Secrets, Diary of a Gutsy Teen are the first two books in this series.

I really love to teach and educate about happiness and how to benefit from positive psychology in ways that let us lead lives of meaning and happiness. You can find me all over the place on the web. In particular, www.enchantedself.com, www.thetruthforgirls.com, on Facebook at Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein: Psychologist & Author, on Pinterest at http://www.pinterest.com/barbarabeckerho/ and on You Tube. Just look for me on You Tube via Barbara Becker Holstein.

Barbara will be awarding $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn host.

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