Mom is gonna kill you. She thinks you’re still her little girl but she has no idea. She might suspect something’s up, but there’s no way she suspects this. You haven’t told anyone yet. On one hand, it’s nice to
Mom is gonna kill you.
She thinks you’re still her little girl but she has no idea. She might suspect something’s up, but there’s no way she suspects this.
You haven’t told anyone yet. On one hand, it’s nice to know that you can get pregnant. On the other hand, you’ve never been so scared in your entire life. And telling mom is what you dread the most.
What did other girls do when they found out they were expecting? What went through their minds? Find out by reading “Dear Diary, I’m Pregnant,” based on 10 interviews done by Anrenée Englander.
Almost 20 years ago, when Englander learned that a teen friend had become pregnant, she looked for a book that offered peer insight but she couldn’t find one. Englander realized that it was up to her to create that book. She posted fliers, asking girls from all walks of life and all races to commit to an interview. Englander says that what she came up with is a book filled with an “overall balance” of experiences.
Eve, who gave her baby up for adoption, was proud of her decision. Still, “It’s a hard decision to make when you don’t even know who you are yet.”
Far from her family (who never knew about her pregnancy), Anastasia also gave up her baby. “I was very happy because I was going to make the first important decision in my baby’s life.”
Katrina already had a son, and two abortions since his birth. Her boyfriend wanted her to continue the third pregnancy but, overwhelmed, she knew she couldn’t handle it, emotionally, financially, or mentally.
From Susan: “I couldn’t go through the emotional pain of having an abortion again.” From Samantha, whose mother has custody of her son: “Everybody thinks it’s cool to have kids… but it’s not like a doll… it’s a lot of responsibility.” And from Angela: “When my friends say, ‘I really want a baby,’ I’ll say to them, ‘Don’t get pregnant. Come over to my house at 4 a.m. and play with my baby, but don’t have a baby.’”
In this book, interviewer and editor Englander is unpreaching, unflinching, unbiased, and understanding as she presents the stories of 10 teenage mothers who made various difficult decisions. This book, she says, is not “a platform for advocating one choice over another,” but instead reflects a “variety of responses.”
While I appreciated that some of the girls seemed happy about what they ultimately chose to do, I was also intrigued to see that their enthusiasm was often followed by a sense of regret and a wish that things had happened very differently. Because of that candor, the advice these been-there, done-that teens offer is keenly useful to any girl who finds herself needing it.
First available 13 years ago but still completely valid, this won’t be an easy book to read but having it may make a big difference to the right teen. For her, “Dear Diary, I’m Pregnant” may give her the help she’s expecting.
• The Bookworm is Terri Schlichenmeyer. Terri has been reading since she was 3 years old and she never goes anywhere without a book.
