9 Books All Mothers Of Teen Age Girls Should Read

Tools for surviving the third circle of hell in parenting.

1. I'm Not Mad, I Just Hate You!: A New Understanding of Mother-Daughter Conflict, by Roni Cohen-Sandler and Michelle Silver

Via Penguin Books

If most of the conversations you have with your teen result in an upward eye roll, a sarcastic laugh or a slammed door, then this book is for you. Some of the important takeaways include how to focus on the right and wrong ways to respond to verbal attacks and the importance of choosing battles wisely.

2. You're Wearing That?: Understanding Mothers and Daughters in Conversation, by Deborah Tannen

Via Ballantine Books

While your relationship with your daughter probably makes you want to scream, Tannen’s book makes you appreciate the humor of it all and more importantly, offers you real hope for breaking down barriers and opening new lines of communication.

3. You Don't Really Know Me: Why Mothers and Daughters Fight and How Both Can Win, by Terri Apter

Via W. W. Norton & Company

The only thing tougher than being an adolescent girl is being her mother. In this book, Apter shows mothers how to interpret the meanings behind a daughter's angry words and how the two of you can emerge from arguments without killing each other

4. The Secret Lives of Teen Girls: What Your Mother Wouldn't Talk about But Your Daughter Needs to Know, by Evelyn Resh

Via Hay House

Evelyn Resh offers advice on how to maintain a balanced relationship with a teen daughter as well as how not to completely freak out about her emerging sexuality. Hilarious lines like, ”Loving an adolescent girl can be like ‘making nice’ with a hyena who’s eyeing you as a meal ”make this a must

5. My Teenage Werewolf: A Mother, a Daughter, a Journey Through the Thicket of Adolescence, by Lauren Kessler

Via Viking Adult

Kessler chronicles her relationship with her daughter by boldly going where no mom has gone before (like online chat rooms and the mall) and addresses the struggles that threatened their relationship when her daughter turned twelve years old.

6. Dear Mom: Everything Your Teenage Daughter Wants You to Know But Will Never Tell You, by Melody Carlson

Via WaterBrook Press

Melody Carlson is not a parenting expert…but she has some interesting insight into parenting a teen. The book is written as a letter from a teenage daughter to her mother confessing her hopes, fears and doubts. It’s like traveling back in time to your most angsty years

7. Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, by Jeanette Winterson

Via Grove Press

Combat parental self- doubt by reading about really effed up parents like Jeanette Winterson’s adoptive mother who after learning he daughter was a lesbian, threw away all of her belongings and tried to exorcise her daughter’s inner demons by starving her for 36 hours straight in a church-led intervention. Good times.

8. What Do You Expect? She's a Teenager!: A Hope and Happiness Guide for Moms with Daughters Ages 11 – 19, by Arden Greenspan-Goldberg

Via Sourcebooks

You thought your husband or partner could push your buttons, but that was before your daughter hit puberty. Think of this book is the ultimate preparation manual and survival guide for mothering a tween or teen girl

9. Parenting a Teen Girl: A Crash Course on Conflict, Communication and Connection with Your Teenage Daughter by Lucie Hemmen

Via New Harbinger Publications

This is the instruction book you wish your daughter came with. It teaches you how to respond appropriately to challenging behavior, hit-or-miss communication, and fluctuating moods commonly exhibited by the total bitch your little one has become.