Click on cover to order

I wrote Growing Up Girl for the teen girl I used to be (and still am in many ways!). Order the book directly from Saint Mary's Press (click on the cover image) or from your local bookstore.

"This lovely book will spark conversations that enable mothers and daughters to share wisdom, listen to each other, and pray together."
--Janet Claussen, author of Awakening: Challenging the Culture with Girls

"Growing Up Girl is a captivating collection of timeless stories that are sure to touch the heart of every teen girl and ex-teen girl."
--Marilyn Kielbasa, author, trainer, and ministry consultant

Here is a review written for www.childrenslit.com the Web site for the Children's Literature Database based in Maryland. 

Teen years are tough years.  However in this book Eileen Pettycrew tackles those years head on and offers a solid solution for making them easier.  The only thing necessary is a commitment between a teen daughter and her mother to set aside a short time for reading a chapter.  A chapter entitled “Getting Started” lays out the structure for the rest of the book.  In that chapter the author draws a correlation between life and a thread, thereby enabling readers to accept subsequent chapters relating to tangles, knots, twists, loops, snags, coils, and spirals in life.  The book readily comes across as  “user-friendly” with easy-to-follow steps.  In the successful format every chapter’s structure is similar.  The viable structure consists of two stories told by a specific woman.  The stories hold the woman’s viewpoint from when she was a child and again when she was a teen.  Both stories revolve around a concept of concern to teens.  Some concepts include body changes, worry, confidence and confusion.  Pettycrew rounds out a chapter by offering sections aptly titled “Finding the Thread,” “Talk Time,” and “Candlelight Connection.”  Pages at the front of the book spell out directions for use and also hold short sharing guidelines.  A quick review of the sharing guidelines will probably be helpful before starting each chapter.  It is evident the content centers on God as a source of help.  However, any mother/daughter pair attempting to create a communication bond may utilize the material.

Each chapter in Growing Up Girl addresses a challenging part of growing up and begins with childhood stories from a real mom:

Chapter One: Tangles
When Your Body Changes
In early adolescence bodies change--and not always
gracefully. Your thread can get tangled with not-so-welcome
changes that disrupt your life in unhappy ways.
God is there to love you, tangles and all.

Chapter Two: Knots
When Worry Strikes
When worry strikes, knots form in your thread and
fill your heart with a heavy burden that crowd out everything
else. God is there to loosen your knots with the gift of
perfect peace.

Chapter Three: Twists
When Others Are Mean to You
When others are mean to you, your thread twists
into contortions that can really hurt. God
is there to show you the true face of kindness.

Chapter Four: Loops
When Life with Others Gets Complicated
Your thread loops through the lives of others. When
life with family or friends gets complicated,
God is there to guide you with a silent hand.


Chapter Five: Snags
When You Lose Confidence
When you lose confidence in yourself, your thread
hits a snag. God is there to gently tug at the snag,
reminding you of all your precious gifts.


Chapter Six: Coils
When You Are Confused
Sometimes your feelings are jumbled. Maybe you
don’t even know what you are feeling. Your thread coils
with confusion.  God is there, hidden among the coils,
to help you see your way clear.


Chapter Seven: Spirals
When Your Life Feels Out of Control
In adolescence your life can feel like it’s spiraling out
of control. Nothing stays the same. You yearn for an
easier time. As you spiral upward, God is there
to catch you if you fall.

Here are some safety rules from Growing Up Girl that you can follow during your sharing time:

Quick Safety Guide

• Prepare your heart to listen.
• Accept the other person's feelings without judgment.
• Wait until the other person is finished sharing before speaking.
• Offer a kind gesture when the other person is finished sharing.
• Give yourself time to respond after you've heard a story.
• Reveal only what you feel right about sharing.
• Allow each other to share in complete confidence.