Mom, I Hate My Life!: Becoming Your Daughter's Ally Through the Emotional Ups and Downs of Adolescence

by Sharon A. Hersh

Book Overview

"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...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0877880239
• ISBN13: 9780877880233
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.9" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

I give this to all of my friends

I loved this book. I have read practically every book that has been written on parenting teenaged daughters and this one is far and away the best. It is hopeful, helpful and realistic. I buy it for all of my friends with teenaged daughters.

hope for "guilty" moms

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.

A book to give and recommend to Moms everywhere!

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.

Richly Rewarding!!!!

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!

I wish I had this book 20 years ago

My girls are now in thier 30's and I wish that I had had Sharon Hersh's insights at the time my 3 girls were adolescents. They were difficult years with a lots of misunderstanding and emotional ups and downs for all of us. I now have 5 granddaughters and I will definetly recomend this book to thier mothers.