Skip to main content

Verified by Psychology Today

The Struggle to Be Strong (Book Review)

Reviews the book 'The Struggle to Be Strong: True Stories by Teens
About Overcoming Tough Times,' edited by Al Dessetta and Sybil
Wolin.

True Stories by Teens About Overcoming Tough TimesGifts for The
Bookish (Free Spirit, 2000; $14.95)

This one is by, about and for teens. Each chapter is written by a
teen who has struggled with the very real problems teens face, including
pressure to use drugs, racial prejudice and sexual (including homosexual)
feelings. Editors Al Desetta, M.A., a Revson Fellow at Columbia
University, and Sybil Wolin, Ph.D., a developmental psychologist
specializing in resilience to life's challenges, have not sanitized the
articles, allowing the grittiness of adolescent life to come through.
This book provides models teen readers can apply in dealing with their
own lives.

Adapted by Ph.D.