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Taste Berries for Teens is a very personal book, one that you will want to take to your room and shut the door for some private-time reading. Its also a book youll want to share with your very best friendsand slip a copy of a particular story to remind a certain someone to see the light. Enjoy it. Let it soothe your heart, support your dreams and give rise to unending possibilities for your life.
Senator Carol Roessler
Wisconsin State Senate
Keeping up with the demands of my school life, coping with the highs and lows of how Im feeling about my friendsor a particular guy, trying to figure out what Im going to do with my life... its a lot. Taste Berries for Teens is a great book to help you sort yourself out.
Rachel Burres, 17
These stories offer keen insight into those human qualities that make our society a better place to live. Very inspirational.
Terry N. Trieweiler
Montana Supreme Court Justice
These stories show the turmoil that is the stuff of being a young person in todays world, and shed light on the many ways young people are sorting it out and, in the process, making a real difference. This is a book you will definitely want to read. Interesting, informative, useful, funny, thought provoking.
Cathy Schmachtenberger
Books Are Fun
The stories in Taste Berries for Teens are so personal, I felt like I was reading about my own life. Its very reassuring and very helpful to know that Im not alone in how I feel and what I find important. I think this book should be required reading in schools.
Chiana McCulky, 16
Amidst the turmoil and adventure of being a teenager in todays times, this book is a tremendous breath of fresh air. Todays times offer teenagers unlimited possibilities and unlimited choices. This is both good and bad news. A nice feature of Taste Berries for Teens is that it can help young people make better and informed choices, because they see the outcomes of other options they might have chosen. Give a copy of this book to a teen you know who is struggling with his life, and to one who is already on track toward worthwhile goalsso that he stays there.
Robert Ray
president, Drake University
three-term former governor, State of Iowa
Taste Berries for Teens is a clone of my heart! In one story its like, Yes! Thats exactly how I feel: I can jump from the highest mountain without a parachute because I am invincible! The next story is like, Yes! Thats how I feel, too: I have no energy to scale the mountain, but who cares? I dont even want to get out of bed. There are so many conflicts within me, and yet, this book helps me feel normal. Its so nice to know that other teens feel the ups and downs like I do. Reading this book gives me hope: Im normal after all!
Heather White, 14
Being a teenager can be lonely because you get used to talking to yourself. Pretty soon, either you think youre pretty great or pretty crazy. Its nice to have a sounding board, a measuring stick, a barometer. Thats what this book is.
Brad Charles, 15
My story is in chapter 8!
Steve Smith
astronaut and veteran of two space flights,
over three hundred Earth orbits and three space walks
What a marvelous book! I was inspired by the kindness and generosity from so many of the teens reporting on things they had done. I am truly impressed by the dreams they have for the world. It is also evident that by using their talents, todays teens canand willchange the world!
Ronald Glosser
vice chairman of the board, Guideposts
We sometimes forget what its like to be a teenagerthere is such an abundance of good times, and of bad. Taste Berries for Teens has found a way to bottle these up together, and in keeping with the effects of a taste berry, make the bad tolerable. Read this remarkable book. Its a prescriptive on how to use the stage of adolescence to instill values, meaning and direction in our young people.
Janice Williams
AmeriCorps-21st Century Scholars
This book will be one of the most favorite ones you own, and the reason is because it will inspire you to think deeply about what you would like to do in life and who you wish to become, and to decide whats the best way to get there. Youll read about other teens and learn how they are asking and addressing issues relevant to teens living in a new era, faced with wonderful and spectacular challenges. An absolutely phenomenal resource!
Lauren Gartland
Building Champions
We would like to acknowledge the following publishers and individuals for permission to reprint the following material. (Note: The stories that were penned anonymously, that are public domain or were previously unpublished stories written by Bettie B. Youngs or Jennifer Leigh Youngs are not included in this listing. Also not included in this listing but credited within the text are those stories contributed or based upon comments by teens.)
The Paintbrush by Lee Ezell, adapted from You and Self-Esteem: A Book for Young People. 1996 Bettie B. Youngs. Reprinted with permission.
The Dragon in My Drawer!, How Big Is Your Splash?, Did I Pass Your Test for Friends?, Hidden Beneath the Folded Things, Ill Be in the Bleachers, Time Cannot Erase Our Love Affair, When I Bite My Tongue, and A Capacity to Mend, by Elmer Adrian. Reprinted with permission.
Always Your Friend, Unconditional Love and Your Long-Term Address, by George E. Young. Reprinted with permission.
To teens everywhere:
May we honor and protect your ideals,
value your wisdom, learn from your experiences,
and point you in the direction of your calling.
Also by Bettie B. Youngs
Taste-Berry Tales: Stories to Lift the Spirit, Fill the Heart and Feed the Soul (Health Communications, Inc.)
Gifts of the Heart: Stories That Celebrate Lifes Defining Moments (Health Communications, Inc.)
Values from the Heartland (Health Communications, Inc.)
Stress & Your Child: Helping Kids Cope with the Strains & Pressures of Life (Random House)
Safeguarding Your Teenager from the Dragons of Life: A Guide to the Adolescent Years (Health Communications, Inc.)
How to Develop Self-Esteem in Your Child: 6 Vital Ingredients (Macmillan/Ballantine)
Self-Esteem for Educators: Its Job Criteria #1 (Jalmar Press)
Keeping Our Children Safe: A Guide to Emotional, Physical, Intellectual and Spiritual Wellness (John Knox/ Westminster Press)
You and Self-Esteem: A Book for Young People (Jalmar Press)
Developing Self-Esteem in Your Students: A K-12 Curriculum (Jalmar Press)
Getting Back Together: Repairing Love (Adams Media Corp.)
Is Your Net-Working? A Complete Guide to Building Contacts and Career Visibility (John Wiley)
Managing Your Response to Stress: A Guide for Administrators (Jalmar Press)
Also by Jennifer Leigh Youngs
A Stress-Management Guide for Young People (Learning Tools Press)
Goal-Setting Skills for Young Adults, coauthor (Learning Tools Press)
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