Book details

The Breakthrough Years

A New Scientific Framework for Raising Thriving Teens

Author: Ellen Galinsky

The Breakthrough Years

The Breakthrough Years

About This Book

Blending cutting-edge research with engaging storytelling, The Breakthrough Years offers readers a paradigm-shifting comprehensive understanding of adolescence.

Almost...

Page Count
560
Genre
On Sale
03/26/2024

Book Details

Blending cutting-edge research with engaging storytelling, The Breakthrough Years offers readers a paradigm-shifting comprehensive understanding of adolescence.

Almost every adolescent has said to parents, “You JUST don’t understand.”

In The Breakthrough Years, child development expert Ellen Galinsky explains why that is so often true.
Galinsky’s seven-year inquiry into the adolescent brain and behavior, including conducting original studies—uniquely informed by the questions adolescents have about their own development—shows why our understanding of adolescence is out of step with the latest research—and how to correct it. She:
· Identifies Five Basic Needs—such as belonging, developing competence, and building an identity—and shows how we can meet these needs in positive ways;
· Presents Five Life Skills that are developing rapidly during adolescence like setting goals and strategies, perspective taking, critical thinking, and taking on challenges and shows how we can promote them;
· Introduces Solutions Mindset and Shared Solutions, a problem-solving mindset and process that parents and others can use to help create solutions to their adolescent’s challenging problems.
Ellen Galinsky’s paradigm-shifting book will help parents and those who work with teens to understand adolescence not as the “I hope we can get though these years” but as the breakthrough years that they truly can be

Imprint Publisher

Flatiron Books

ISBN

9781250062048

In The News

“A masterpiece weaving together current scientific discoveries, key insights from extensive interviews with teens and parents, and empowering suggestions – this book is a gem! Comprehensive and with ready-to-apply suggestions for any adult caring for an adolescent in these challenging modern times, The Breakthrough Years offers us all a practical path to cultivating resilience and wellbeing for our next generation.”
– Daniel J. Siegel, M.D., author of Brainstorm, Executive Director of Mindsight Institute

"Grounded in science and rich with real-life examples, The Breakthrough Years beautifully explains the inner workings of the teenage mind and details exactly what adolescents need - and deserve - in order to thrive. Ellen Galinsky's compassionate call-to-action is an essential guide for anyone raising, educating, or caring for teenagers."
– Lisa Damour, author of The Emotional Lives of Teenagers

"This book is a gift! A true treasure trove of evidence-based wisdom on adolescent development. Beautifully written, extensively researched, and full of specific and actionable advice, The Breakthrough Years is essential reading for anyone who has wondered what we can do to help the teenagers we love thrive. I loved it!"
– Angela Duckworth, author of Grit

"Destined to be a classic, Ellen Galinsky’s new book, The Breakthrough Years is a breakthrough in its own right. It gives us a whole new view of adolescence based on the latest research and provides the tools we need to understand our teenagers and help them thrive. She’s the gold standard when it comes to parenting!"
– Michèle Borba, Ed.D., author of Thrivers

"So often the narrative about adolescence tells us our children are in trouble. This meticulously researched book is different. It highlights the timing of heightened adolescent brain plasticity, thus giving us an opportunity to support adolescents and the tools to navigate these changes. If you have, care for, or care about an adolescent, this book will change your relationship and most importantly inspire you—not frighten you—in the process.”
– Aliza Pressman, PhD, Author of The Five Principles of Parenting; Host of Raising Good Humans Podcast; Co-Founder The Mount Sinai Parenting Center

"Ellen Galinsky has written a singularly important, creatively unique, and timely book. The Breakthrough Years seamlessly integrates cutting-edge research; the cumulative knowledge of youth program professionals; and the wisdom, insight, and decades of experience of its author. This book is required reading for scholars, practitioners, parents, and youth themselves. I could not put it down...a superb contribution to science and society."
– Richard M. Lerner, Ph.D., Director of the Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development, Tufts University

"Solutions, practical advice, and insights are what we need right now. Ellen Galinsky’s connection of research with the voices of young people and their families is a singular contribution to educators and the communities they serve.”
– Mort Sherman, Ed.D., Senior Associate Executive Director, Leadership Network, AASA The School Superintendents Association

Galinsky’s love for adolescents as individuals and for the developmental period of adolescence shines through on every page. This is absolutely the most informative, compelling, and passionate books on adolescents and adolescence I have ever read. I will be quoting it heavily for years to come.”
– Karen Pittman, Founding Partner, Knowledge to Power Catalysts

"Ellen Galinsky taught us long ago how much adults mattered to teens, even as so many others were (wrongly!) trying to portray the generations as emotionally disconnected. Now, reflecting the genuine respect she has for adolescents and families, The Breakthrough Years, guides us how to make the difference in young lives by giving us the strategies and tools to respond to what young people say they want from us. This meaningful, extraordinarily well-written and thoroughly-researched book is the indispensable guide you have been waiting for to learn how to seize the opportunity adolescence offers."
– Kenneth Ginsburg, MD, MS Ed, Founding Director of The Center for Parent and Teen Communication, and author of Building Resilience in Children and Teens

"Ellen Galinsky’s The Breakthrough Years is a must-read book for adolescents, parents, educators, researchers, and anyone with an interest in positive youth development. This book is not only timely but is also culturally and contextually relevant, providing insights on core elements for fostering positive developmental outcomes for all youth."
– Velma McBride Murry, PhD, Professor, Departments of Health Policy & Human and Organizational Development, Vanderbilt University

“Finally! A front row seat at the very essence of human development, one that challenges many of the assumptions about adolescents that are just plain wrong. The Breakthrough Years is a brilliant, accessible guide to understanding the adolescent brain and what teens themselves want us to know about what this incredibly exciting time in their lives means to them and the futures they aspire to.”
– Pamela Cantor, M.D., Founder, Turnaround for Children

About the Creators

The Breakthrough Years

The Breakthrough Years