Ruckus: Finding Peace Amidst the Chaos of Raising Teenagers
From the author: "Ruckus is an unconventional memoir. That is, I’m not divorced, my parents aren’t dead, and no one abused me as a child. My memoir is the book Ferris Bueller would write if he were a middle-aged woman in upstate New York with a houseful of teenage kids and an ecofeminist agenda. It’s about embracing the chaos of raising teenagers, and my efforts to become the person I need to be in order to raise them." |
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Four kids, five canoes, seven cats, one drum set ....
My oldest son, Sean, pounds out a beat on the drum set in the living room. His brothers rollerblade down the hallway. Two of our “extra” kids, that is, kids who spend so much time at our house that I don’t hesitate to assign them chores, are filling a wading pool with cornstarch and water to make a “non-Newtonian” fluid. My middle son, Devin, experiments with fire by putting a lit match to the loose threads of his white socks. My youngest child, Bryan, wakes me during the night to ask an important philosophical question: “Will there be video games in heaven?”
Revel in the chaos. That’s my advice to anyone parenting teenagers.
The main characters in this memoir are the gang of teenagers in my household, who rub margarine on the kitchen linoleum to make it slippery so they can skate across it in bare feet, who tack blankets over the windows to play a game called Monster, and who tape toilet paper to the ceiling fan to watch it spin. My lively household is a backdrop to what is essentially a spiritual journey: my attempt to savor life even as it’s changing rapidly, and my struggle to live in a way that is life-affirming, balanced, and connected to landscape and family. Some days my goals are less lofty. I want to keep my sanity.
This is not a how-to parenting book, but readers will glean some tips, like the best strategy for sneaking off to have sex with your husband when you’re camping in the sand dunes and your tent is filled with teenage kids.
The manuscript doesn't have a publisher yet, but watch this space. We'll be sure to provide details when the book is in press.
Revel in the chaos. That’s my advice to anyone parenting teenagers.
The main characters in this memoir are the gang of teenagers in my household, who rub margarine on the kitchen linoleum to make it slippery so they can skate across it in bare feet, who tack blankets over the windows to play a game called Monster, and who tape toilet paper to the ceiling fan to watch it spin. My lively household is a backdrop to what is essentially a spiritual journey: my attempt to savor life even as it’s changing rapidly, and my struggle to live in a way that is life-affirming, balanced, and connected to landscape and family. Some days my goals are less lofty. I want to keep my sanity.
This is not a how-to parenting book, but readers will glean some tips, like the best strategy for sneaking off to have sex with your husband when you’re camping in the sand dunes and your tent is filled with teenage kids.
The manuscript doesn't have a publisher yet, but watch this space. We'll be sure to provide details when the book is in press.
The Pseudonymous Boy Band featured in the memoir.