Hal Runkel, Family and Marital Therapist, has written a great general parenting book. It doesn't go into interaction with teens extensively (although there are anecdotes that are useful), but it lays a great philosophical foundation for parenting children of any age. Hal's basic premise is that usually it's the parents who need to "grow up" and learn how to keep their cool while they're parenting their kids. Every therapist knows this--now Hal has found a way to say it clearly, with humor. It gets five stars from me. Get it at Amazon.com.

Gary Nelson is a pastor, a counselor, and the father of Tom, who, soon after starting high school, became severely emotionally withdrawn, angry, listless, and terribly unhappy. A Relentless Hope documents the Nelson family's trip through Hell, as they ask repeatedly, "Who has taken away our son and left this alien creature in his place?" This is NOT a story about adolescent angst, the 'depressed' moods most adolescents go through. This is the diary of how one family learned to recognize and then dealt with clinical depression, the kind that can kill. They got him psychological help, and medication also helped. But there is a lot more to the story of how this family supported this son and brother and how the parents fought their own demons along the way. Beyond being a good read (and it is that), A Relentless Hope could change your life if you are related to or know someone who has a teenager in depression. As a professional psychotherapist, and as a parent, I sincerely thank Mr. Nelson for writing this book. Get it at Amazon.com at a discount, and help this site at the same time!

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