Offers techniques for dealing with the guilt, anger, frustration, and self-doubt of parenthood, including visualization, personal mission statements, and strategies for dealing with specific negative feelings

NEWSFLASH: Your mom and dad weren’t always parents. They used to be people—and they were awesome They bathed you. They fed you. They raised you to become the person you are today. Your parents are an integral part of your story. But guess what? They have a story too—one that started long before you entered the picture. Before embarrassing fanny packs and Lite FM, there was a time when Mom and Dad were young and carefree—just like you. They were also fun and flirty, full of hope and desire and effortlessly cool. Based on the wildly popular website, My Parents Were Awesome shares heartwarming and hilarious essays by sons and daughters—including Jamie Deen, Christian Lander, Dave Itzkoff, Katherine Center, Laurie Notaro, and Holly Peterson—who’ tell tales of their folks before babies, mortgages, and receding hairlines: the mom and dad who traveled by VW bus to see Led Zeppelin for $1, the grandmother whose halter top and shorts belied her perfect demeanor, the father whose wanderlust passed down to his equally nomadic daughter. Accompanied by treasured vintage photographs, these stories will make you laugh, melt your heart, and spark your own reflections of Mom and Dad. “Jimmy and Paula” by Jamie Deen “Eleanor and Johnny” by Jennifer Mascia “Steve and Teena” by Mike Adamick “Tony and Leeka” by Aaron Khefeits “Bruno and Elena” by Elia Bazan Garcia “Richard and Jennifer” by Christian Lander “Bob and Kitty” by Mindy Raf “Elaine and Jerry” by Mike Sacks “Josephine and Jim” by Salena Landon Reese “Lil and Jon” by Sara Benincasa “Seymour” by David Kamp “Christy and Teddy” by Kambri Crews “Joe and Patricia” by Tom McAllister “Ron and Sherry” by Rebecca Serle “Chuck and Debra” by Alex Blagg “Bob and Leslie” by Bex Schwartz “Gerry and Maddy” by Dave Itzkoff “David” by Jackie Mancini “Seymour” by Philip Glist “Patricia and Jerry” by Mandy Stadtmiller “Deborah” by Katherine Center “Carol and Jimmy” by Laurie Notaro “Heather and Ian” by Gabrielle Nancarrow “Phil and Karen” by Mollie Glick “Marty and Aveva” by Rachel Shukert “Azra and Ilarion” by Veronica Lara “David and Maria” by Anita Serwacki “Wayne and Margaret” by Hanna Brown Gordon “Martha and Jim” by Kate Spencer “Roger and Terry” by Kyle Beachy “Diane and Michael” by Leigh Newman “Kevin and Moira” by Ben Craw “Pete” by Holly Peterson “Martin” by Bradley H. Gendell “Addie and James” by Meg Federico “Dolores” by Durga Chew-Bose “Terry and Kathy” by Brandy Barber “Jim and Kathy” by Jennifer E. Smith “Hazel” by Rachel Fershleiser “Andrei” by Alexandra Stieber “Jud and Claudia” by Ryan Doherty “Kathryn and Phillipe” by Kathryn Borel “Astrid” by Ophira Eisenberg “Don and Corinne” by Rachel Sklar “Panfilo and Leonina” by Giulia Rozzi

Three stepsiblings in a blended family discuss their experiences and those of friends with divorce and remarriage.

A large segment of the population struggles with feelings of being detached from themselves and their loved ones. They feel flawed, and blame themselves. Running on Empty will help them realize that they're suffering not because of something that happened to them in childhood, but because of something that didn't happen. It's the white space in their family picture, the background rather than the foreground. This will be the first self-help book to bring this invisible force to light, educate people about it, and teach them how to overcome it.

Your parents are growing older and are getting forgetful, starting to slow down, or worse. Suddenly you find yourself at the cusp of one of the most important transitions in your life—and the life of your family. Your parents need you and your siblings to step up and take care of them, a little or a lot. To make the right things happen, you will all need to work together. And yet your siblings may have very different ideas from yours of what’s best for Mom and Dad. They may be completely uninterested in helping, leaving you with all the responsibility. Or they may take charge and not allow you to help, or criticize whatever help you do give. Will you and your siblings be able to reach an understanding and work together, or will the challenges you face tear you apart? Most of us enter this period of our lives unprepared for the difficult decisions and delicate negotiations that lie ahead. This is the first book that provides guidance on the transition from the “old” family to the “new” one, especially for adult siblings. Here you’ll find practical advice on a wide range of topics including • Who will make major medical decisions, manage finances, and enforce end-of-life choices if your parents cannot? And how will this be decided and carried out? • How will you negotiate caregiving issues and deal with unequal contributions or power struggles? • How can inheritance and the division of property, assets, and personal effects be handled to minimize hurt feelings and resentment? • How will you cope with the natural reemergence of unresolved childhood rivalries, hurts, and needs? • How can caring for your parents be an enriching experience rather than a thankless chore? • Most important, how can you ensure the best care for your parents while lessening conflict, guilt, anger, and angst? Written by a veteran journalist who chronicles life and how baby boomers live it, They’re Your Parents, Too! offers all the information, insight, and advice you’ll need to make productive choices as you and your siblings begin to assume your parents’ place as the decision-making generation of your family. Filled with expert guidance from gerontologists, family therapists, elder-care attorneys, financial planners, and health workers; resonant real-life stories; and helpful family negotiation techniques, this is an indispensable book for anyone whose parents are aging.

For the first time, financial guru and TODAY Show regular Jean Chatzky brings her expertise to a young audience. Chatzky provides her unique, savvy perspective on money with advice and insight on managing finances, even on a small scale. This book will reach kids before bad spending habits can get out of control. With answers and ideas from real kids, this grounded approach to spending and saving will be a welcome change for kids who are inundated by a consumer driven culture. This book talks about money through the ages, how money is actually made and spent, and the best ways for tweens to earn and save money.

The Giver, the 1994 Newbery Medal winner, has become one of the most influential novels of our time. The haunting story centers on twelve-year-old Jonas, who lives in a seemingly ideal, if colorless, world of conformity and contentment. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community. This movie tie-in edition features cover art from the movie and exclusive Q&A with members of the cast, including Taylor Swift, Brenton Thwaites and Cameron Monaghan.

When 12-year-old Andy meets Laurie and Jeff at an adoption party, he has already been in eight foster homes. Andy s alcoholic mother has given him up to the state as too hard to handle, and his father is in jail. Andy longs for a loving home and parents he can trust, but his attention deficit disorder, combined with the legacy of his dysfunctional parents, causes him to constantly challenge authority. He steals, destroys property, gets in trouble at school, tries to make a gunpowder bomb, and accuses Jeff, his soon-to-be father, of touching him inappropriately. To make matters worse, Andy s real father shows up asking for money. But Andy s new parents refuse to give up on him, and Andy must fight to save his soon-to-be-father s reputation and his own chance at having a real family."

"No one book resolves a lifetime of hurts and misunderstandings, but it can remove the blinders from our eyes. Make an effort now." LOS ANGELES TIMES No matter how old you are and whether or not your parents are alive, you have to come to terms with them. This wise and practical book will show you how to deal with the most fundamental relationships in your life and, in the process, become the happy, creative, and fulfilled person you are meant to be.