SURVIVING TEEN PREGNANCY

With rare honesty, a former teenage mother shares her own experiences while putting forth many other options. This is a handbook about feelings, including some—like apathy—that are rarely discussed, with emphasis on success stories whatever the choice. For Arthur herself, the experience has been both a struggle (fighting the urge to call her daughter a sister) and a joy (gaining confidence in making choices). With many lists of suggestions (stress reducers; getting realistic about the father's role; pros and cons of abortion; planning for unplanned sex; dietary precautions; going to school; etc.), the pages become an empathetic workbook in decision making. In its practicality and insistence on motivation and persistence as keys to success, this nicely complements Kuklin's What Do I Do Now? (p. 730) as must reading during a crisis—or better yet, before it occurs. Bibliography; index. (Nonfiction. 12+)