The Gift of Teenagers: Connect More, Worry Less

Learn to love your teenagers and count them as a blessing. Rachel Kelly successfully navigated this challenging stage with her five children and shares the lessons learned so other parents may benefit from this new and inspiring perspective.

In this authoritative book by an established mental health writer with advice from experts in the field, Rachel Kelly shares how bringing up her five children in an anxious age, and her work for ten years with young people in schools and at universities, has led to her own psychological growth. Raising resilient teenagers begins with becoming a more resilient - and better informed - parent, someone who has learned to manage their own emotions, become aware of their parenting style, and understand the world our teenagers are growing up in.

Thus armed, we can engage with our adolescents better and discover how they, and their brains, work (short answer: not always like us!). The book also offers psychologically helpful (and evidence-based) approaches for supporting our teenagers, from personal relationships to navigating social media. Whisper it, but it might even be a fun ride.

Author: Rachel Kelly
Publisher: Short Books
Published: 07/15/2025
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.11lbs
Size: 9.09h x 6.27w x 1.16d
ISBN13: 9781804193167
ISBN10: 180419316X
BISAC Categories:
- Psychology | Mental Health
- Family & Relationships | Life Stages | Teenagers
- Family & Relationships | Parenting | Fatherhood

About the Author
Rachel Kelly is a best selling writer, speaker, mental health advocate and former Times journalist. She has written five books sharing her experience of depression and evidence-based strategies that have helped her feel better - everything from cooking to poetry to mindfulness to exercise. She has spoken all over the world from Delhi to Sydney, America and across the UK. Her books are published in over 10 countries and she is an official ambassador for mental health charities Rethink Mental Illness, SANE and The Counselling Foundation. She is the mother of three boys and two girls, all now grown-up.