The TRUTH: Diary of a Gusty Tween by Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein

In this updated version of THE TRUTH, My Secret Diary, I’m Ten, I’m Smart and I Know Everything positive psychologist Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein provides a glimpse into two years in the life of a girl starting at ten years old. Told as a series of diary entries, the reader follows the girl as she falls in love for the first time, deals with troubles at home, attempts to fit in with her peers, and watches her body begin to change. As young girls move along through this young journalist’s life, they will be reminded of their inner strength, their talents, and their future potential.

The TRUTH: Diary of a Gusty Tween contains references to modern technology that all tweens and teens use on a regular basis. This is the second update of this book for teens and tweens. I like how Holstein works to stay in touch with her readers and keeps abreast of what is important to them. However, the messages of this book remain the same: you aren’t alone and you are special. Because these messages are so important when reaching out to this age group, I am happy Holstein continues to focus her work here. Bringing up girls to have a healthy image of themselves is vital to future happiness.

Definitely a great book for those ten and up to read alone or with a parent for discussion.

Rating: 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

File Size: 1614 KB
Print Length: 176 pages
Publisher: Sky Pony Press (July 1, 2014)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B00K4JVUPQ

I received a free digital copy from the author. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Secrets: You Tell Me Yours, I’ll Tell You Mine…maybe by Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein

Joining us today is Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein, author of Secrets: You Tell Me Yours, I’ll Tell You Mine…maybe. This is the second book in The Truth Series for girls. The Truth: I’m a Girl, I’m Smart and I Know Everything, the first book in the series, is also available at Amazon.

Since this book is written as a series of diary entries from the girl, now 13 years old, we asked Dr. Barbara if she had any diaries as a kid and if she remembered anything she had written in them.

DEAR DIARY, TONIGHT I LOVE LUCY IS ON! I CAN’T WAIT!

I started to keep a diary when I was nine years old.  Actually, it was a leather bound Girl Shout Diary purchased downtown in Reid’s Department Store in Bridgeport, Connecticut.  Yes, I do mean ‘Girl Shout’.  You see, I was dyslectic.  Spelling was not my strong point.

Keeping a diary in the fourth, fifth and sixth grades was an amazing commitment for me.  I made a promise to myself that every day would be recorded.  I almost kept the promise.  Once in awhile when I was sick I just fell behind.  Otherwise, even if I was three days behind I wrote.  I would lie on my bed at night and write about my day, or yesterday.  Basically, the diary was a journal of events and a few feelings.  It would go something like this:

“Today I wore my brown jumper and my new loafers.   My father took me to school.  We had indoor recess.  I had a tuna fish sandwish for lucnh.  I walked home with Angela.  We had steake for supper.  I had to pratice my violin a lot today.  My mother tested me on my spelling words for the week.  I got most of them write.  I was so happy.  I love Lucy was on tonight.  I took a shower and then came down to watch it.  I went to bed after it was over.  Eileen called and asked if I was sleeping over this weekend.  I don’t know yet.”

Now as I look back on a typical excerpt, such as the one above, I realize how I shied away from any comments that reflected thoughts or feelings that were uncomfortable to me on any level.  I never talked about my parents’ arguments or if my feelings were hurt.  I never mentioned the one episode I had when a neighbor was inappropriate as I walked home from school.  Although I felt upset for months about the episode, not a word was said in the Girl Shout Diary!

Most of the feelings I was willing to share in the diary were happy ones, such as my pleasure watching I Love Lucy or the excitement I felt about going on a vacation or going to New York City to see a play.  Other feelings appear to be much too risky.  What was I afraid of?  Perhaps my parents would read the diary?  I don’t remember worrying about that.  Maybe I simply wanted to keep the history of my life simple and upbeat?  What is so fascinating is I do remember intentionally leaving out anything risky at the emotional level.  But what I can’t remember is why.

Sometimes I think it was girlish wisdom and optimism combined.  Could I have known at a deep unconscious level that staying happy means to a large extent not focusing on what is not right?

When I decided to write The Truth Series for girls, tweens and teens, I had to make some other choices.  Now I had to build into a young girl’s diary not only what happened to her, but also her feelings and insights.   To not do so, would of course have made The Truth (I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything) and Secrets: You Tell Me Yours and I’ll Tell You Mine…maybe as dull as my paragraph above.  Also the fictional diary would be without the fabric that is essential for the reader to process and benefit from.  After all, it is the window the author provides into the feelings, thoughts, and happenings to the characters in a book, through which we can look at our own lives and how we are handling them.

So I knew I had to take the concept of a diary but imbue it with feelings and words I never would have dared to write.  I also knew I had to make my character much more universal that I ever was.  She has had happen to her so many universal themes: her parents do not get along; she has crushes; she has sibling issues; she has to deal with moving; a close relative dies; she has questions and no one to ask them to; she has jealousies; she discovers secrets in her family and the list goes on.  Yet, she too, must remain basically upbeat and optimistic.  That way she is a beacon of light and encouragement to other girls and also a role model for discussions with their moms, teachers, guidance counselors, etc.

I know I have achieved this in The Truth Series.  And yes, I have my three Girl Shout Diaries to thank for much of the success of these books.  My Girl Shout Diaries reinforced the practice and diligence that is necessary to become a writer.  They also left me fascinated with the diary concept and the intimacy it can achieve for both the writer and the reader.  I am grateful I had the chance to write at such a young age.  I am also grateful that no one checked my spelling!

Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein, internationally known Positive Psychologist, is the creator of The Enchanted Self,(r) a systematic way of helping to bring more joy, meaning and purpose into our lives. Thanks to authors like her, more people have been studying the mind in psychology degree programs and great advances have been made in improving the human condition. Dr. Holstein has been a school psychologist for more than twenty five years. She has taught elementary school children and was an assistant professor of education at Boston University. She has been in private practice as a psychologist with her husband, Dr. Russell M. Holstein, in Long Branch, New Jersey, for over twenty five years.

 

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Knowing THE TRUTH by Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein

Today’s guest blogger is Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein the originator of The Enchanted Self(R). She has been a positive psychologist in private practice and licensed in the states of New Jersey and Massachusetts since 1981. She is currently in private practice in Long Branch, New Jersey with her husband, Dr. Russell M. Holstein. 

She is the author of The Enchanted Self, A Positive Therapy, Recipes for Enchantment, The Secret Ingredient is YOU! and There Comes A Time In Every Woman’s Life for DELIGHT.  

Her newest book, The Truth, I’m Ten, I’m Smart and I Know Everything! is another first in positive psychology. Written by a ten year old girl as a diary, Dr. Barbara has been able to imbed lots of positive truths that we all need to remember and live by, regardless of our age. 

The girl’s edition, titled: The Truth, (I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything) debuted February 2008 in bookstores nationwide. You can get your copy now at http://enchantedself.com.

Over twenty-five years of clinical work with women in my psychology practice has convinced me that many, many women forget the truth. I want them to not forget, which is why I wrote The Truth (I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything). But you ask, “Isn’t this a book for older kids, tweens and teens?”

My answer is yes it is. But just think about it. If the young people of today are not helped to get in touch with the truth, won’t they be the women of tomorrow who have forgotten so much that is important? So where better to start than with girls, tweens and teens?

And now you may ask, “What exactly is the truth? What is it that women seem to have forgotten?”

Let me tell you. Often, we women seem to forget what the ten- or eleven-year-old girl inside of us once knew with such certainty. We forget how strong we are. We forget how astute we are at sizing up the world. We forget our capacity to recover from hurts and build successful new relationships.

We forget so much of our childhood wisdom. We forget the excitement and enthusiasm that comes from letting our passionate natures come out to play. And we forget how to laugh, laugh from our bellies. We forget how to intensely react to daily life. So often we forget how to have fun. Many of us don’t allow the playful part of ourselves to come out. We don’t know how to let out, safely, the imp inside of us. And we forget how proud we can feel about ourselves.

I see it as a tragic loss—we have forgotten so many of the simple truths known to us in our girlhood. The cost is enormous. Many of us walk around out of sorts, some of us are depressed, feeling like we’re a balloon that has pins pricked into it. Many of us don’t achieve our birth right of living out our potential. Falling by the wayside, many of us are under utilized, under educated, and marginally productive.

Some of us spend our time ruminating, feeling bad, wishing we had made other choices with our lives, and often seeing ourselves as in hopeless situations. Too often we blame others, saying someone else is responsible for the decay of our own lives, having lost any sense that we are navigators of our lives. Like sleeping beauty, we await a prince to awaken us, rather than awaking ourselves to our own riches: our capacities for joy and fun, to create, study, invent, innovate, lead, recover, re-invent, feel, love, discover, share, etc.

So to the girls and young women of today! Read this little book and soak in the messages of Truth that are impeded in it! Hold on to your wisdom and your strengths! Hold on to you potential. Hold on to your resiliency. Don’t sell out. Grow into each stage of life with courage and sureness! And by the way, make sure your moms read the book to. (Actually, there is an adult version. The Truth (I’m ten, I’m smart and I know everything) is also available.)

Good luck! You can do it! You can hold on to the Truth and so can your Moms!

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Tweet for Literacy Giveaways – Prize Package 8 Announced!

Our Motto: “The family that reads together has a lot of fun!”

The Tweet for Literacy Giveaway is a campaign designed to raise awareness of the importance of involving the whole family in a child’s reading activities. Tweet for Literacy will be giving away literacy-related prizes every two days throughout the month of November in honor of National Family Literacy Month. Help a child to read, and let the fun begin!

How to Enter the Tweet for Literacy Giveaways

Step 1: Follow our 7 sponsors on Twitter. This step is required. We will all follow you back!

http://twitter.com/ccmalandrinos

http://twitter.com/lindathieman

http://twitter.com/hollyhardin

http://twitter.com/susieqtpies

http://twitter.com/cafeofdreams

http://twitter.com/nicole_odell

http://twitter.com/sherikayehoff

Step 2: Re-tweet (RT) any post about the giveaway. Use the hashtag #Tweet4Lit on each RT. Be sure to add the bit.ly URL link for this contest page. It’s .

Sample Entry Re-tweets

RT @ccmalandrinos Tweet for Literacy is giving away 12 prize sets and a grand prize thru Nov. Enter here. http://bit.ly/29sSk3 #Tweet4Lit

RT @ccmalandrinos Enter Tweet for Literacy giveaways here! New prize sets every 2 days. #Tweet4Lit http://bit.ly/29sSk3

Step 3: That’s it! See the Official Rules below.

Official Rules

You can re-enter as many times as you like. Prizes are awarded every 2 days starting on November 8. First day to enter is November 6, 2009. Last day to enter is November 30. A prize package will be awarded on each even day of the month. Each prize package will be a set of items that are literacy related. See below for specific information on prizes.

The name of the winner will be selected at random and will be drawn at approximately 6pm CT. The winner will have 3 days to respond. If we don’t hear from the winner, we will select another winner for that prize package. We will notify our 13 winners by Direct Message (DM) on Twitter.

Whereas you can enter as often as you like, if you are not following all 7 sponsors on Twitter, which will be verified, your entries will be disqualified. All entries that comply with the above rules will be valid for each drawing, including the Grand Prize. The Grand Prize will be awarded on December 1, 2009.

Open to residents of the U.S. only. Must be at least 18 years old to enter.

If you have any questions or comments about the giveaway, please contact Linda Thieman at blog (at) katieandkimble (dot) com.

Our Sponsors

Authors

Holly Hardin, author of the children’s picture book Aurora of the Northern Lights

Twitter name: @hollyhardin

Blog: Holly’s Helpful Hints

http://hhhelpfulhints.blogspot.com/

http://hollyhardin.net/

Sheri Kaye Hoff, Life Coach and author of Keys to Living Joyfully

Twitter name: @sherikayehoff

Blog: Coach Sheri’s Living Joyfully Everyday blog

http://www.lifeisjoyful.org/id1.html

Nicole O’Dell, author of the Scenarios books for girls ages 10-15

Twitter name: @nicole_odell

Blog: Nicole O’Dell blog

http://nicoleodell.blogspot.com

http://www.nicoleodell.com

www.scenariosforgirls.com

Linda Thieman, author of the Katie & Kimble: A Ghost Story chapter book series for ages 7-10

Twitter name: @lindathieman

Blog: The Katie & Kimble Blog

http://www.katieandkimbleblog.com

Bloggers

Susan Buetow, homeschooling mom/blogger

Twitter name: @susieqtpies

Blogs: The Homeschool Messenger; Scraps of Life

http://homeschoolmessenger.blogspot.com/

http://cafescrapper-scrapsoflife.blogspot.com/

Cheryl Malandrinos, writer/mom/book blogger

Twitter name: @ccmalandrinos

Blog: The Children’s and Teens’ Book Connection

https://childrensandteensbookconnection.wordpress.com/

April Pohren, mom/book blogger

Twitter name: @cafeofdreams

Blog: Café of Dreams

http://cafeofdreams.blogspot.com

Prizes and Winners

The Tweet for Literacy campaign was designed to encourage family literacy. Our motto is “The family that reads together has a lot of fun!”

Our goal is to empower children and teens, especially girls, who are so often overlooked. We also seek to teach tolerance and self-acceptance through reading and through family interaction.

Our eighth prize package winner will be selected on November 22, 2009, at 6pm CT. Total value of Prize Package Eight is $116.

Prize Package Eight

1) A stuffed Dr. Suess’ Cat in the Hat doll, 24 inches high. A $25 value. Donated by Tweet for Literacy sponsor April Pohren.

2) Aurora of the Northern Lights by Holly Hardin (autographed — an $18.95 value), the delightful Yuletide-themed picture book by one of our Tweet for Literacy sponsors. Donated by the author.

3) The Katie & Kimble chapter book series by Linda Thieman, for ages 6 to 10. Lexile® measures: 280L and 290L. This set includes Katie & Kimble: A Ghost Story and Katie & Kimble: The Magic Wish. These are stories of love and healing, and are not scary! Donated and autographed by the author, one of our Tweet for Literacy sponsors. (Value: $11.90 per set)

4) The Raucous Royals: Test your Royal Wits: Crack Codes, Solve Mysteries, and Deduce Which Royal Rumors are True by Carlyn Beccia, for ages 9-12. A $17 value. Donated by Tweet for Literacy sponsor April Pohren.

5) How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff (Value $7.99). (Young Adult). Donated by Tweet for Literacy sponsor Linda Thieman.

6) The Shiniest Jewel: A Family Love Story by Marian Henley (A Memoir) $21.99 value. Great for the entire family. Donated by Tweet for Literacy sponsor April Pohren.

7) The Truth (I’m 10, I’m Smart and I Know Everything) by Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein. (Women’s Edition) Value: $12.95. Donated by Tweet for Literacy sponsor Cheryl Malandrinos.

Check back here daily as we will continue to update the list of prizes.


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The Truth (I'm a girl, I'm smart and I know everything!) by Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein

Funny, thought-provoking, and inspiring, The Truth (I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything) by Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein is sure to be a hit with  girls and teens.

Based upon Dr. Holstein’s women’s self-help book, The Truth (I’m 10, I’m smart and I know everything), the girl’s version has a hip new cover, new introduction, and new discussion questions.

The format remains the same: a series of diary entries from a young girl who shares everything she thinks and feels about life at home and at school, her dreams for the future, and her knowledge of The Truth. Young girls will follow along as this girl talks about how her parents’ fighting makes her feel. They’ll witness her fall in love. They’ll even get to be with her as her body begins to change. And as young girls move along through two years in this young journalist’s life, they will be reminded of their inner strength, their talents, and their future potential.

The Truth (I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything) is a book that girls and their mothers can read together. It will also make a meaningful gift.

Once again, Positive Psychologist and Happiness Coach Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein teaches her readers how to learn about themselves in positive ways.

Rating:   🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

Publisher: The Enchanted Self Press

ISBN-10: 0979895200

ISBN-13: 978-0979895203

SRP: $6.95 (U.S.)