Girl in the Mirror: Mothers and Daughters in the Years of Adolescence

Mother, know thyself--especially mothers of daughters, for as Nancy L. Snyderman, M.D., and Peg Streep so eloquently convey in Girl in the Mirror, self-aware mothers stand a much greater chance of helping their daughters become happier, more fulfilled women. But there's a catch: oftentimes, a girl's volatile journey through puberty occurs during her mother's midlife--another physically and emotionally challenging stage of womanhood. Fusing an impressive array of research findings, expert interviews, quotations from classic texts on teens, and journal entries from regular moms (and a few dads), Snyderman and Streep clear a safe path through the brambles and muck commonly associated with "surviving" adolescence.

Optimism, encouragement, and empathy fill every page of this thoughtfully compiled text. Whether they're unraveling a deceptively complex topic such as girls' friendships (from childhood "best friends" to teenage sexual partners), or reporting hard data on tough issues (chronic disorders, drug abuse, violence), Snyderman and Streep never buy in to "inevitable" scenarios. Rather, they offer practical methods to help mothers nurture a pattern of appropriate openness, trust, and respect with their maturing daughters. Excellent tools for assessing one's current perceptions, handling tough situations, and gracefully managing change add further substance to this marvelous resource. --Liane Thomas