How can you contribute as much as possible to the lives teens? Connection with teens is the necessary element if we are to make a positive difference in their lives. But connecting with teens can be challenging. We can easily grow discouraged, frustrated, and indifferent. When we distance ourselves from teens, they lose. But teens win if we summon the courage to connect with them. In contrast to what you may believe, teens want to relate with you. This book is for educators, parents, physicians, and others, that want to strengthen their connection with teens. These 40 Reflections explore the conditions necessary for connection to take place. The most important, influential element for connection is you. Though your training, experience, and credentials may help, they are impotent in comparison to you as a unique, gifted individual. Only when we bring the fullness of who we are to our relationships with teens can we hope to make a positive contribution to their lives.

As an adult, my desire was to have many children. I was blessed with the birth of only one daughter. Her name was Denise. This entity, my daughter, brought me undiluted happiness for the time that she spent on this earth. She was taken away by an automobile accident at the early age of twelve. I have never stopped searching for her departed soul, hoping to repeat the joy that was once mine. In my travels around the world, I have adopted four children, bringing the added love and affection I once had. The joy of bringing sunshine into a child's life, fulfills my happiness as a father. My son stepping on the threshold of manhood, I found it necessary to advise him of the hills and valleys he may have to climb.

" ...I've tried my best and it's not good enough. We can't afford the school that you appear to not give a damn about... So...it leaves me with no other alternative." My mom paused waiting for her comments to sink in. What did that mean? I finally had the courage to look up at her. "You are going to go live with your Aunt Sydney." "What? In Las Vegas?" People make mistakes and Kris is learning the hard way when one mistake leads to her life being upturned. She is forced to move with her aunt in Las Vegas right when things with her best friend Jimmy were starting to get interesting. She finds that making friends in Vegas might be easier than she thought especially when they're attractive. Throughout the story Kris struggles with family crises. She thought she knew enough about family and love but life is full of surprises.

How does a privileged, eighteen year old end up in prison, convicted of one of the rarest of crimes--matricide? The literary nonfiction Stranger to the Truth explores the fatal intersection in the lives of Noura Jackson, her circle of dissolute Memphis friends, and the death of Noura's mother, Jennifer, on the eve of a popular outdoor festival. The brutal attack seemed to reflect personal and exponential rage. Tragedy stalked Noura. Her father was fatally shot when she was seventeen. A mystery never solved. A year later an auto accident claimed her best friend. Both mother and daughter were reeling from shock, grief, and confusion. The tension between them escalated until Noura's difficult teenage years yielded to something much darker. More than a whodunit, this fact-based account tells a spellbinding tale of impetuous youth and a single parent who too late assumes the role of disciplinarian, saying no to the demands of her daughter who will not listen. Weaving multiple points of view, back stories, and extensive research, Stranger to the Truth corrals a timely, complex story in an absorbing narrative. Praise for Stranger to the Truth "In Stranger to the Truth, Ms. Hickman has taken a local tragedy and, with eloquence and empathy, given it universal application. The reader will find not only a gripping story, but also a moving exploration of the shadows that dwell within us all." --Howard Bahr, author of The Black Flower, The Year of Jubilo, and The Judas Field

LEGENDARY is Jaiya John's celebration of teachers, social service professionals, advocates, caregivers, counselors, mentors, and the like. Those compassionate souls who honorably serve youth devalued by society due to material poverty, heritage, language, family separation; or challenges with learning, behavior, mental health, or physical ability. Here are poetic stories to awaken your spirit, massage your heart, and remind you of the reasons you do this work. Your service touches lives, and miracles are born. Your grace endures forever. Are you experiencing COMPASSION FATIGUE, VICARIOUS TRAUMA, BURNOUT, DISILLUSIONMENT, DOUBT, LACK OF APPRECIATION AND SUPPORT, LOST DIRECTION, FEAR, EMPTINESS? You deserve relief. LEGENDARY is well water drawn from the very soul of your compassionate endeavor, offered back to you in your own yearning voice. Come here and drink to your replenishment. Regain your spark of purpose. Word by word, renew your wholeness, your humanity, and your vital health. Take a dose daily. Soon, you will be breathing freely again, like the first time you answered your sacred calling.

Whether your teen is a slight problem or a nightmare, you can learn from my experiences raising a teenage sociopath. There is always hope, with God's help. God can give you peace, even when your life is in chaos.

In light of recent events, Americans are looking more at the complex reasons that cause shootings. A significant number place the blame with parents not paying enough attention to their children, and of course, mental illness. It has been shown from previous shootings that usually these young people feel like outsiders because they don't have a peer group's respect and support, and they felt unloved at home. Love is one primary inhibitor to bad behavior. I show in my book that there are three primary inhibitors that will make a difference with the behavior of most children.

With our complicated lives, all the distractions and demands on each of us, we have to make the most of the time we have with our children. If the influence of the three primary inhibitors is not being felt by your children, then they may not have moral restraints to prevent bad choices.

Queer Monologues: Stories of LBGT Youth, produced by For the Love of Learning (FTLOL), offered queer youth a safe, creative outlet to share their concerns, hopes and personal stories with the community-at-large. If an individual is unable to be themselves, the consequences can be emotional, physical, and mental harm. When feelings are shared within a supportive group and are received non-judgmentally, self-esteem is enhanced, leading to a healthier way of relating to others, oneself, and the community as a whole.

My name is Wendy. I was a 14-year-old girl just trying to make it in today's cruel world. I lived in Florida with my mom and stepdad, and then was sent to live with my dad and his wife Karen in South Boston, mainly because I didn't get along with my stepdad. Even though I loved my dad and Karen a lot, I revolted against them any way I could. My first week there as I was sitting outside eating lunch, a little sparrow flew down and sat on the table with me. I was shocked and didn't know what to do. I tossed her a piece of bread and she took it and flew back to her nest. Minutes later she flew back. I was surprised as she hopped over and into my hands as I fed her. I named her Tiffany because she had sparkling eyes and I loved that name. She became my best friend and was always there for me. I was really bad the whole time I lived in Boston. I didn't mean to be, but I wanted to go back home where my true friends were. After being sent home, I didn't change my ways and became more defiant. Somehow I wish I could turn back the clock and change the way things turned out, but that can't happen. We learn to live with our mistakes, but I wish Tiffany was here with me. I missed her the most ... James A. Richardson, Jr. says, "My wife Karen is a strong woman all around with a loving heart. Wendy is my daughter from a previous marriage, and Tiffany was a little sparrow that became our friend and family." Publisher's website: http: //sbprabooks.com/JamesARichardsonJr

There were two deaths on November 2, 1995, in Paterson, New Jersey. The death of my seven-year old brother due to a form of cancer called Glioblastoma (malignant brain tumor). I was nine-years old at the time of his untimely passing. I was a nine-year old with an impressionable mind that was fragile. I was a nine year old who had to face the abandonment of his father. I was a nine-year-old living in a single parent household with my mom who I looked at as my mom and dad. I was a nine-year old who had a helluva life that left me bitter and resentful. No one saw this coming, not even me. He Was Dying Inside of Me, depicts what hell was like for me after my brother died. Somewhere in the midst of my troubles I died too and anyone in my circle suffered. This book maybe small in size, but the contents are larger than life. In my teen years I suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. And now at the age of twenty-five I am still suffering from the traumatic experiences that I've endured. But today, I'm taking the initiative to let my pain have a conversation, something I never thought I'd ever have the strength to do.