Description

In this groundbreaking book, the bestselling author of Parenting from the Inside Out and The Whole-Brain Child shows parents how to turn one of the most challenging developmental periods in their children’s lives into one of the most rewarding.

Between the ages of 12 and 24, the brain changes in important and often maddening ways. It’s no wonder that many parents approach their child’s adolescence with fear and trepidation. According to renowned neuropsychiatrist Daniel Siegel, however, if parents and teens can work together to form a deeper understanding of the brain science behind all the tumult, they will be able to turn conflict into connection and form a deeper understanding of one another.

In Brainstorm, Siegel illuminates how brain development affects teenagers’ behaviour and relationships. Drawing on important new research in the field of interpersonal neurobiology, he explores exciting ways in which understanding how the teenage brain functions can help parents make what is in fact an incredibly positive period of growth, change, and experimentation in their children’s lives less lonely and distressing on both sides of the generational divide.

Publisher Review

Brainstorm is eye-opening and inspiring, a great gift to us all-teens, parents of teens, and anyone who wants a full and rich life on this planet. Daniel Siegel shows how the supposed downsides of the teen years all have upsides, and that the lessons for living that await teens are ones any of us, at any age, can learn from. Teens and their parents stand to benefit immensely from reading this book, separately or together. -- Daniel Goleman, author of *Emotional Intelligence* At last a book that really explains adolescence! 'You just don't get me' is a common refrain from teenagers to their parents and teachers. Adolescents who read this book will discover that Daniel Siegel gets them. My favourite thing about this book is that Siegel sees adolescence not as a problem to be solved or a hardship to be endured, but rather as a wellspring of courage and creativity. This respectfulness is why the book works so well as a manual for adolescents, as well as their parents and mentors. -- Lawrence J. Cohen, author of *The Opposite of Worry* and *Playful Parenting* Siegel gives us a fresh and insightful examination of adolescence from his point of view as an expert on the brain. The book also shows him to be a thoughtful parent, a compassionate guide and a very fine writer. I strongly recommend Brainstorm to teens and to those who care about them. -- Mary Pipher, author of *Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls* and *The Green Boat: Reviving Ourselves in Our Capsized Culture* Brainstorm is a necessary look at why adolescents do what they do that can put parents in an emotional frenzy. The information that Dr Dan Siegel shares is not only invaluable for understanding your growing child's brain, but helps build more compassion and patience. A gift for us all. -- Goldie Hawn 'Brainstorm is a must read book for every parent if they want to avoid emotional turbulence in their own lives as their children go through adolescence. It's lifesaving for the whole family.' -- Deepak Chopra, MD This book is filled with validation, vision, and clarity to help us navigate the seas of an often overwhelming time in life - the teenage years. This book is chock-full of cutting-edge knowledge as well as a deep compassion for teenagers, the adults they will become, and the teenagers in all of us. -- Alanis Morissette 'Warm-hearted, respectful, and comprehensive ... I have not seen anything to match it as a resource for thinking parents of teens.' -- Steve Biddulph 'For many parents, understanding the teenage years is a little like trying to pick up mercury with a fork. In Brainstorm, the great Dan Siegel takes the mystery out of the train crash that is adolescence. This is essential reading for every parent and every worker with young people in health, education and welfare.' -- Dr Michael Carr-Gregg 'An enlightening but straightforward read for parents of teens, or teens themselves.' The Weekend West