This Is So Awkward

“[This book] does for teenagers what Our Bodies, Ourselves did for women in the 1970s. It’s the definitive coming-of-age guide that we need right now.”—Kara Baskin, The Boston Globe

“Think back to your own experience of puberty, and then multiply the confusion and awkwardness by ten—being an emerging adult today is hard! And yet this is also true: these tumultuous years offer so much opportunity for connection, empowerment, and knowledge-building. This is So Awkward will equip you with expert wisdom, deep compassion, and lots of laughs, and will enable you to show up as that parent—the one kids can turn to.”—Dr. Becky Kennedy, New York Times bestselling author of Good Inside

“How are loving adults supposed to guide tweens and teens when everything—even puberty—has changed so much since their own adolescence? Cara Natterson and Vanessa Bennett have the answer! This Is So Awkward is an accessible, enjoyable, and detailed road map for addressing even the most delicate topics with confidence and compassion.”—Lisa Damour, PhD, author of Untangled, Under Pressure, and The Emotional Lives of Teenagers

“What’s more awkward than kids going through puberty? Parents trying to navigate it all! Fortunately, Cara Natterson and Vanessa Kroll Bennett have written This is So Awkward. Always authentic, informative, and practical, they use science and humor to walk us through which conversations to have and how and when to have them. This is the must-read guide you’ve been waiting for.”—Tina Payne Bryson, LCSW, Ph.D., New York Times bestselling co-author of The Whole-Brain Child and No Drama Discipline

“Parenting through puberty can be a minefield. We all want to say the right thing, but it’s easy to be paralyzed by discomfort, lack of knowledge, and the fact that things may have changed a lot since we were kids. This book is nothing less than a path through that minefield. It is a must read.”—Emily Oster, New York Times bestselling author of Cribsheet and The Family Firm

“Puberty is inevitable, but Cara Natterson and Vanessa Kroll Bennett can help spare you and your child the confusion and embarrassment that stops so many of us in our tracks. Indeed, This is So Awkward is the book every household needs if there is someone aged 8-18 living in it. No more winging it, this guide has you covered!”—Aliza Pressman, host of the Raising Good Humans podcast

Dr. Cara Natterson is a pediatrician, speaker, educator, and leading voice in tween and teen health. She graduated from Harvard College and Johns Hopkins Medical School and trained in pediatrics at UCSF. Cara launched her career at Tenth Street Pediatrics in Santa Monica. She traded patient care for writing and has authored 10 books, including the New York Times bestselling The Care and Keeping of You series with American Girl. In 2020, Cara founded the first company aimed at making the tween and teen years more comfortable, starting with physical products. Over the next five years, she partnered with Vanessa Kroll Bennett to create content channels across social media, a podcast called This Is So Awkward (which has 2.5 million downloads to date), a growing library of books, and most recently a digital, school-based K-12 health and wellness curriculum that’s not even two years old but already used by schools in seven states and internationally. It’s all in service to her mission—which is, conveniently, also the name of her company—Less Awkward.

Vanessa Kroll Bennett is the founder of Dynamo Girl, a company focused on building kids’ self-esteem through sports, puberty education, and parent workshops. She runs all media at Order of Magnitude, a company dedicated to flipping puberty positive. She co-hosts The Puberty Podcast (with Cara Natterson, MD), hosts Conversations on Parenting and Beyond at the JCC Manhattan, and writes the Uncertain Parenting Newsletter about the messy process of raising tweens and teens. A graduate of Wellesley College, Vanessa holds an MA from the Jewish Theological Seminary. She lives in Northern Westchester with her husband and four teens.

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