What readers are saying about I Wanna Be Sedated:
“When it’s too late in the evening to call someone to commiserate about your teen’s latest escapade, pick up I Wanna Be Sedated. It’s just like sharing stories with your friends. Editors Faith Conlon and Gail Hudson have done a marvelous job of compiling an engaging collection of essays about life with teenagers written by some of our most talented writers. Dave Barry checks in with “Warning: An American Teenager is Loose in Europe” about how our favorite know-it-alls don’t really know it all. And I sure wish I could write as eloquently to my girls as Barbara Kingsolver does to her daughter in “Letter to a Daughter at Thirteen.” The other selections are just as riveting and witty.” –Jennifer Burlow, Chicago Parent
“Here’s some good news for parents of teens: You can survive. This comes from the 30 writers in the new book I Wanna Be Sedated, [a] collection of essays from top authors – including Anna Quindlen, Dave Barry and Joyce Maynard – about raising teens. Rather than a “how-to” manual, the book illustrates in honest, poignant and humorous ways, the joys and angst of trying to be a parent of young people approaching adulthood – arguably the toughest job out there.” – Contra Costa Times
“I Wanna Be Sedated is a gem. Besides, what’s handier than a book of short stories to read by the penlight you keep at the side of the bed while you wait up for your curfew-breaking teenager? I suggest investing in two copies: one for yourself and another for your kid. Just don’t tell him you bought it. Pretend instead that it was a gift of the gods, which is what this book is.” – Valley Kids
“I don’t know about you, but when my children are getting the best of me, the last thing I want to do is read a self-help book on how to raise teenagers without letting them get the best of you. What I want to do is call up a friend, complain bitterly, make all sorts of threats that I probably won’t carry out (if my kids are lucky) and then hang up the phone, feeling better for having vented. Now there is an advice-free book to read when your best friend’s phone is busy. It is a collection of essays, many of them very funny. It captures the range of feelings in the roller coaster world of raising teens – from intense love to irrational anger – in the words of men and women who have lived this life and survived to tell the tale. Between its pages are friends you can call anytime.” – Susan Reimer, The Baltimore Sun
“Whether or not you have a teenager, you will relate to I Wanna Be Sedated: 30 Writers on Parenting Teenagers. This book has laugh-out-loud essays from writers across the country, [with] fathers writing about daughters, mothers about sons, mothers about daughters, etc. W. Bruce Cameron, in the “Teenager Owner’s Manual” writes that “when you first receive your teenage daughter you will experience a high level of discomfort. Gradually this discomfort will subside and you will merely feel traumatized.” Several of the stories lament the change from being the center of a child’s universe to a point where, as Irene Hopkins relates in “The Seven Circles of Hormone Hell”: “I can actually embarrass her when there is no one in the room but the two of us.” – Judy Antell, Big Apple Parent
“The essays are about real families who value each other, muddle through the hard times and remain connected. As such, they offer affirmation, along with some vicarious shivers of relief for parents feeling the heat.” – Annette Clifford, Florida Today
“For parents of teenagers, an edifying collection that reassures them that (a) they are not alone and (b) this, too, shall pass. The [book] is both entertaining and illuminating, a tough, funny, sometimes painful series of tales that focus on the special challenges of parenting [teenagers]. An entertaining resource for parents of teens and parents of younger children who want to know what to expect in the years to come.” – Kirkus Reviews
“My kids are little--1, just 4, and 5--and I could not put this book down. I read it in a day and a half, laughed and cried over it, and shared many of the stories with my husband. I really appreciated how the editors gave voice to fathers as well as mothers. The raw honesty, pain, and nostalgia in the stories, combined with fine writing, made this book one of the best I've read in a long time. This isn't just a book for parents of teenagers. It's a book for everyone.” – Jennifer Margulis, editor of Toddler
“Thirty writers offer their wisdom, humor and insights on the challenges of parenting teens in I Wanna Be Sedated: 30 Writers On Parenting Teenagers. Writings come from many notable literary sources, from columnist/humorist Dave Barry to novelist Barbara Kingsolver and more. Each presents their own stories of experiences with teens; from handling sexual issues to racial profiling, drinking parties and more. A 'must' for any parents facing the teen years.” – Midwest Book Review
“I just finished reading this book and I was wowed. First, as a parent gorging herself on a feast of rare, delicious honesty, thirty heaping platters of truth and solace and fellow-feeling. Second, as a devotee of the essay form, I was pleased to encounter so many favorite names and to be introduced to so many exciting new ones. Third, as a contributor – proud too see my work in this setting. Hudson and Conlon have done a stand-out job, shedding equal light on the scary lonely parts of this job and the funniest-ever Marx brothers camaraderie of it. Buy two – I’ve already given both of mine away.” – Marion Winik, author of Telling and The Lunchbox Chronicles
“As a psychologist working with adolescents for twenty years I love this book. As a parent of a 17-year-old, I FEEL this book! Wow, what a wonderful book. I Wanna Be Sedated takes you through so many intimate glimpses of parenting, from so many different perspectives and varied experiences of parenting. The writing is sophisticated and strong. This book is honest and uplifting, deep and lighthearted, for mothers and fathers everywhere.” – Amazon.com reader review