Get Out of My Life

Teenagers are tough and anyone who has their own needs help. Witty, enjoyable and genuinely insightful, Get Out of My Life is now updated with how to deal with everything from social media to online threats and porn, as well as looking at all the difficult issues of bringing up teenagers, school, sex, drugs and more. But it's the title of the second chapter, 'What They Do and Why' that best captures the book's spirit and technique, explaining how to translate teenage behaviour into its true, often less complicated meaning. One key mistake, for instance, is getting in no-win conflicts instead of having the wisdom to shut up when shutting up would be the most effective, albeit least satisfying, thing to do. Another is taking offence when the teenager views you, the adult, as idiotic. And there's advice on what to do when this happens. The message is clear: parenting adolescents is inherently difficult. Don't judge yourself too harshly!

Review: Reassuring, very funny and spot-on -- Michelle Hanson, author of Treasure the Teenage Terror

A handbook for parents on the front line. * Herald (Glasgow) *

Funny, sound, and compassionate, Get Out of My Life will truly help you talk with your kids and not get mad -- Beth Winship * Boston Globe *

Get Out of My Life has Spock's common sense, the insight of Freud, and the wit of Bombeck. I welcome this book. -- Dorothy Zeiser, Ph.D., Chairman, Department of Child Study

Wolf, a clinical psychologist who works with adolescents (Why Did You Have to Get a Divorce? And When Can I Get a Hamster?), clearly has a feel for both the angst of young people who must deal with an evermore complex world and the difficulties parents face when a cooperative loving child morphs into a teenager who lies, talks back and avoids parental company. Humorous and insightful, Wolf describes what is, rather than what mothers and fathers of rebellious and thoughtless adolescents wish would be. He is forthright in stating that "you do not win the battle for control with teenagers... usually the best you get is imperfect control." Despite the best efforts of parents, today's adolescents frequently drink, experiment with drugs and are sexually active. According to the author, however, it is still important to have rules even though a teenager may break them. If parents clearly state their expectations of behavior and restate them when a teen disobeys, their son or daughter will, to some extent, internalize the rules and abide by them sometimes. In addition to providing excellent advice on particular situations, including divorce, school problems and stepparenting, he makes the often obnoxious manner in which teens communicate with their parents understandable as a rite of passage that they will eventually outgrow. * Publishers Weekly *

[A] wise and comforting classic. -- Patrick O'Neill * The Oregonian *

A book that friends with adolescents have sworn is their survival bible ... One friend told me, 'I swear, it's like he was sitting in my kitchen writing down our exact words.' The dialogue and analysis are completely on-target and so full of sense ... Wolf's tone is playful, astute, and made me scurry to find his [other] book[s]. * The Chapel Hill News *

One of my favourites ... Not only does the title offer much-needed levity, but instead of giving out rules to fail at, the book tries to explain what is happening [to teenagers]. -- Mariella Frostrup * Observer *