Sarah Burningham: Teen Author

New blog reviews of How to Raise Your Parents

Some of my favorite blogs have reviewed How to Raise Your Parents (thanks to all you bloggers who read the book!). Here are the latest new reviews:

The Reading Zone - How to Raise Your Parents: A Teen Girl’s Survival Guide by Sarah O’Leary Burningham was a nice break from the fiction I have been reading all day. It’sa cute book with different strategies for dealing with parents...

Em's Bookshelf - Subtitled "A Teen Girl's Survival Guide", How to Raise Your Parents is filled with helpful hints and clues about how to survive your teenage years without killing your parents. It's got everything, from how to talk about curfew to...

On top of these blogs, I'm always on the lookout for new blogs to read so let me know if I should be reading yours!

 

Some of my Favorite Radio Interviews

I've done over 50 radio interviews for my book launch and a few have been really super fun. I thought I'd post them here in case you have some time on your hands and want to listen to me rambling about my book, why I like teenagers, and why parents and teens aren't as different as they might think they are.

• WAMC-FM / NPR radio in Albany, New York "Roundtable"

• "Strategies for Living" in Shreveport, LA

• WBZ Radio in Boston, MA "Parent Report"

Let me know what you think!

The Truth About Video Games

I'm terrible at most video games, although I have to say I totally rock Guitar Hero. I can't get enough of that. My sister has Rock Band and since we don't live in the same city, I haven't played yet, but I can't wait to get my hands on those drumsticks.

There's a new book out called Grand Theft Childhood that talks about the real effects of video games on kids. I think it's interesting because I know a lot of parents worry that violent video games are making kids violent but this author says it's not true. Here's the part where I am supposed to say what I think...but the truth is, I don't really have a lot of experience with video games so I'm still figuring out what I think about them in general. My husband LOVES (yes, the whole word is capitalized) video games but he's also a really balanced person and understands the difference between the real world and the world of gaming. So maybe that's the risk. That when you're really young, you can't decipher between the two worlds?

With the new Grand Theft Auto game just out (I can't even escape all the ads everywhere - they've spent a fortune advertising it) this book is pretty timely.

I'd love to hear what you think. Do you think video games are scapegoats for violent acts? Or do you think violent video games should be banned?

The Secret Lives of Teenagers

Whenever I read a headline that says something like "The Secret Lives of Teenagers," I'm tempted to roll my eyes a little. Not because I don't think teenagers have secrets, but because usually a headline this is an attempt to dramatize the bad decisions of a few teenagers and makes parents panics that their totally normal teenager is on drugs or something like that. The truth is, most teenagers are pretty good kids and it drives me crazy how they can get a generalized bad rap in media.

Anyway, I was thinking all these things when I saw this article titled The Secret Lives of Teenagers (of course). But, I was happily surprised when I started reading it.

Even though the article starts off saying that communication is a problem between parents and teens (hello, that why I wrote my book!), it actually has some very promising and comforting stats.

A few highlights:

• The study shows that more than 70 per cent of teenagers think their parents accept them as they are, sense when they are upset, understand what they are going through, respect their feelings and trust their judgment. (That's a huge number! Way to go to all those parents who inspire that kind of trust from their teenagers.)
• Teenagers are not always likely to confide in parents, with only around 50 per cent saying they "almost always" or "often" talk with parents about troubles or difficulties. (The truth is, you don't have to confide everything in your parents. Yes, they need to know the basics, but sometimes it's ok to process things on your own before you talk to a friend or parent. And usually, after you've given yourself some time to think about things in your own mind, you can find your own solution. I would just say that when something dangerous or scary is happening, this is definitely a time to talk to your mom or dad.)

Really, teenagers today are smart, thoughtful, and generally have good heads on their shoulders. You guys pretty much rock. Now, if we can just spread the word to major media... (I'm working on it.)

Behind the Scenes on Book Tour

I have settled back home after being out on the road for 2 weeks. It's great to be back home sleeping in my bed and waking up at a decent hour, but I kind of miss being out doing events and meeting people. So, I thought I would share some highlights from a few cities since things got so crazy I didn't have time to finish blogging about all the events.

SAN FRANCISCO (May 6, 2008)
I love San Francisco. It's one of those cities that has such amazing energy and a really good vibe.

The first stop was the book club at Capuchino High School in San Bruno, just a few minutes from the San Francisco airport. My mom and I couldn't find the actual entrance to the school (it's one of those great multi-level CA schools with tons of outdoor space) so we actually got there about 5 minutes late.

Lucky for me, the girls were really cool. We talked for over an hour about everything from dealing with parents when it comes to getting a summer job to what it's like to write a book. The teacher who runs the book club made homemade scones and hot chocolate and the event ended up being a super fun gab session. It was definitely one of the highlights from the road.

After book club, my mom and I went back to the hotel and completely crashed. We had to wake up at 3:00am in the morning in order to catch our 6:00am flight, so we were beat. But a few hours in bed with the blackout curtains drawn, and we were good as new.

Next stop was ABC-TV and their local show The View from the Bay. (See that white plastic bag in my hand? That was lunch - BLTs from the diner around the corner. Yum!) I was lucky and got to do a bunch of local TV shows while I was in different cities, but this one was a highlight. The hosts were really fun and real - I could tell they really wanted to have fun with the book but also get some useful info out there.

We wrapped up the day with a Mother-Daughter pizza party at Towne Center Books in Pleasanton. Pleasanton had one of the cutest main streets I've ever seen...little sandwich shops, boutiques, a nail salon and of course, what main street is complete with a book store? Towne Center Books is the heart of the town and I met so many cool teens and their moms. And Judy made homemade brownies which definitely hit the spot after a busy day!

Next stop...hot and sunny Phoenix.

 

My interview with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer

While I was on book tour, I got to speak to a bunch of high school and junior high students in all different cities about how to deal with their parents. Let me just say, these were by far the best events I did. The teenagers had the best questions and we had really good talks. They basically became like chat sessions instead of lectures. (Which is by far how I prefer them. Who wants to just sit and listen to some random person talk for an hour?)

At one school just outside of Seattle, a reporter and photographer came with me and took pictures while I talked. I'm usually pretty calm under pressure, but seriously, having a reporter take your picture while you're speaking is so nerve-wracking! Anyway, the article turned out great - it ran last Friday in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

One quick story, I actually drove out to the event with the reporter, a super nice guy named Paul Nyhan. (He really is one of the most genuinely nice reporters I've ever met.) He wanted us to have time to talk before I actually started speaking at the school, because I wasn't going to be able to answer his questions then, you know? So, anyway, he picked me up at my hotel and we started driving. But after 3 minutes in the car, he turned to me and said, "Do you want to drive?"

I need to explain a little something here. I am an excellent driver. Really, only one accident in 13 years of having my license. But...that being said, I don't have a car. I live in New York City and we don't drive anywhere. So it's been years since I've driven a lot. I only drive when we go on vacation and even then, Grant usually drives. (I prefer to sit shotgun and rule the radio.)

So, when Paul asked me to drive I started to laugh a little. I thought he was kidding. He wasn't. He needed to take notes, he said, and couldn't do it while he was driving. And then he pulled over so we could trade spots!

I thought I might start to hyperventilate. Not only was I going to drive a reporter (who was in the process of interviewing me) but I was going to drive HIS car in a city I wasn't that familiar with. Waaaaa! I tried to keep my cool. I put my seatbelt on, adjusted the mirror and went for it. And you know what, it all turned out ok. We got to the school in one piece. But I swear, when we finally parked, it was like I could breathe again. Thank goodness I didn't wreck his car!!

Random Articles Found by my Husband, Grant

One of my favorite things about my husband is the fact that he can find anything online. And I mean anything. Like the time he saw Cinderella Man and within 20 minutes of getting home, had researched the complete history of the guy Russell Crowe's character is based on. And the best part is that after he finds this stuff, he remembers it. He's a walking encyclopedia of random information.

I find all sorts of quizzical iTunes podcasts and songs by artists barely anyone has ever heard of on our computer every day. And sometimes he saves articles he thinks are particularly bizzare in our browser's bookmarks. I just found this one about the 9 things that might kill you (if they actually exist) yesterday and it's one my favorites. The Mongolian Death Worm? If that's not enough to keep you awake at night, I don't know what is. But don't thank me, thank Grant!

One Pose Per Second. How many can you come up with?

I love super-creative YouTube videos and this one, featuring writer/performance artist Miranda July, is bizarrely captivating. (A lot of people have a love-hate relationship with Miranda July but after this video I'm more inclined to love.) She moves her body, doing a pose a second, to a new Blonde Redhead song. But the best part is the mock video someone made with a kitty cat doing a sort-of pose a second.

I figure that if Ms. July is really posing once per second, then she poses a total of 212 times for the entire song. But I don't have the patience to actually count. If you do, let me know!

Book Tour Buzz

I'm out on the road, in Salt Lake City right now, and I leave for Seattle early tomorrow morning. It's been a total whirlwind so far and I'm loving every second of it.

My first tour event was in Dayton, Ohio, at Books & Co. - a famously rocking bookstore for hosting great events and selling a TON of books! I know the event coordinator, the talented Sharon Kelly Roth, and it was really fun to hang out with her for a few minutes before the event started. Once I got to the event space, I was happy to see the three people who came to hear me talk. (I know what you're thinking - three people? - but as a new author in a town where you don't know a soul - three is totally thrilling.) The three women were awesome and the event ended up being a girls night out style chat with everyone talking about being a teenager or having teenagers. I just wish I would've brought some refreshments and my pillow!

Next stop - Salt Lake City - my old high school stomping ground and where my family lives now. I felt like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz when my plane landed on Thursday morning. There really is no place like home. I didn't spend much time actually at home though. Thursday night was a great event at The King's English - a really amazing indy bookstore - one of the top in the country. Not only did I get to see old friends and meet some new ones, I also met a teen book blogger I've been emailing with - the girl behind Squeaky Books! She was so sweet to come all the way to the event and I loved meeting her. You know, that's my favorite part of the tour so far - meeting cool teenagers and parents and other writers. I feel super lucky.

I finished the week off with some local media (Good Things Utah on ABC-TV, The Todd & Erin Show on B98.7, KCPW's Midday Metro, and a few other hits) and a great event at the Salt Lake City library in Millcreek. (That event was super fun - I LOVE libraries and librarians. I think I might be a librarian in my next life.)

Tomorrow I head to Seattle and I'll be posting a few pics of those events later this week, along with pics from my stops in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. Hope to see you there!

The Today Show!!

It was so amazing to be on the Today Show yesterday. The day started when the town car picked up me, my mom, and Grant and drove us down to Rockefeller Center. After getting settled in the greenroom (Grant was even more nervous than I was!) the producer took me down to get my makeup and hair done. (I wish I could do that every single morning. It's amazing what the hairdresser could do with my stick straight hair and it was heaven having someone do my makeup!) And then it was just a few minutes before I walked on to the set, got miked, and started talking with Ann Curry and Michele Borba.

What a whirlwind! It was really wonderful. Every minute of it. My mom took a bunch of pictures and when I figure out her camera (I swear, sometimes I think they make cameras hard to work on purpose) I'll post them. But for the time being, here's the segment...Enjoy!

Newsweek, BookPage, and SmartGirlsRock Love my book!

First things first...remember that tomorrow I'm going on the Today Show! I'll be on around 9:00am so don't forget to watch. I'll post the video tomorrow after it goes on the Today Show website. I'm so stoked.

(Don't you love the word "stoked"? I think I'm going to try and resurrect it in pop culture...)

In other news...I did this interview for Newsweek on the "Eight Top Teen Health Hazards." What do your parents think are the biggest health risks in your life? I have to admit, mine were pretty much worried about everything and even though I'm an adult now, I know my mom is really freaked out that I drive a Vespa.

Also, I just got the first official review of How to Raise Your Parents: A Teen Girl's Survival Guide, and...it's great! Sometimes, even though you really believe in what you've written and are putting out into the world, you hold your breath hoping that most other people feel the same way. (I say most because I don't think you can ever please everyone.) I was basically on the verge of passing out from lack of oxygen waiting for the blasted PDF with the BookPage review to open but once it finally did, I could breathe easy.

BookPage is a monthly magazine that goes out to more than 400,000 bookstores, libraries, and readers in general, so it definitely matters what they have to say. Actually, I think it matters what everyone has to say, in print or not, but there's something so permanent about an actual magazine, isn't there?

Check out a few lines from the review:
"Burningham reveals the most effective techniques for understanding adults, handling professional worriers (i.e. parents), maneuvering around them and coming out a winner in the independence game...She delivers straight-talk in a funny and fun-to read format...Armed with How to Raise Your Parents, teens will have the inside track on effective strategies for communicating, negotiating, and compromising their way to the freedoms and privileges they're after--skills that will come in handy whether they want their own cell phone, a new hair color or a set of car keys!"

And that's not all. I've been saving the best for last!

SmartGirlsRock.com is a website that has actual teens (smart girls, of course) review books. So, you get honest, true-to-life girls like you talking about books you want to read, and which ones you don't. Luckily, the teenagers who read mine raved about it. Check out what they said:

"This book is funny without being stupid, informative without being boring, and helpful while still being one of the best books I’ve ever read...This is something every teen needs on their bookshelf or, more likely, on the floor somewhere."

Ok, I'm done with all my crazy excitement (for today)!

Sarah on the Radio

Last week I was on the radio show Walking on Air with Betsy and Sal with these two super funny moms, Betsy and Sal. It was one of the most lively interviews I've had because they both have teenagers! And actually, I was thinking that if I were one of their teenagers I would probably die of embarrassment because they were getting discussed on air.

I think my favorite moment in the interview was when Sal said that she and her teenage daughter took a road trip and her daughter made a mix of music for the ride. According to Sal, her daughter's taste in music was the worst part of the trip! I had to laugh because I remember trying to get my mom to listen to Alanis Morissette (her first album Jagged Little Pill came out when I was a sophomore and I still love it). Anyway, you would've thought I tried to make my mom listen to a soundtrack of dogs barking. She hated it! We finally made peace with one of my other favorites Carole King--my mom actually introduced me to Carole and now we're good old friends.

Back to Betsy and Sal--I have to say they must be pretty cool moms. (Note: if one of their kids reads this, email me so I can hear your side of the story!). They cracked me up so hard that at one point I worried I was going to choke on the radio! You can download their podcasts for free and check out their website for more about them, past shows, and other cool stuff.

Parents Find Texting Can be Better than Talking

You know something is becoming a national trend when one of the big newspapers (the New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, or LA Times) has a big story on it. So, I was really excited to see this story in the Washington Post a few days ago.

Parents are texting more to keep in touch with their kids? Finally! I've been saying all along that parents need to learn about all the new technology if they want to keep up with their teenagers. After all, teens are super tech savvy and are up on everything from the latest websites to IM lingo. It only makes sense that they'd be able to relate to their teenagers better if they're communicating the same way. Not to mention, it's no secret that as a teenager it can be really embarrassing if your mom or dad are calling you 24/7. With a text they can still say "remember soccer after school" or "when are you coming home?" without dialing you up 5 million times a day. It's a total win-win.

Along these same lines, when I found out I was going to be on the Today Show last week, I called my mom. I was at work, so I couldn't talk long, but within 20 minutes she'd told my whole family and I got texts from my sister Jennie and brother Connor telling me congrats. It just made things even more exciting and it was the perfect way for them to say way to go without actually calling me at the office. As they say in those Orbitz commercials...Fabulous!

I'm going on the Today Show!

Yes, it's true. Yours truly is going to appear on the Today Show (yay!!) the morning of April 25th (Mark your calendars!) to talk about How to Raise Your Parents: A Teen Girl's Survival Guide. How cool is that?! I'll be on during the 9:00am hour and if I do say so myself, watching the segment is definitely a good reason to be a little late for school that morning. You have to watch so you can tell me what you think.

In other important news, now I have to figure out what to wear! A total dilemma. I was thinking about this dress but yellow isn't a great color for me and it's a freaking fortune. Any ideas? Help me, fashion gurus!

I'm on TV!!

I had my very first ever TV appearance on Wednesday and it's up online for the world to see. New York 1 News (a local New York City channel) had me on to talk about my book and how to bridge the gap between teens and parents. They let me pick the topics, so I chose music, driving, and expressing your personal style--all pretty big deals when it comes to parent/teen relationships. I have to say, it was really fun!

The host really wanted me to have props - "think of it like you're doing a show and tell for second graders," she said - so I brought a bunch of old records to show music from your parents' generation (Rolling Stones, the Beatles, Carol King, Bob Dylan) and CDs from the current top 40 (Carrie Underwood, Jack Johnson, Alicia Keyes, Chris Brown) to show that there's stuff from all generations. My point: your parents don't need to be freaked out about your music!

One funny thing, though. Since Grant has a big record collection, (all the records I showed on camera are his) he said I should definitely use "Sticky Fingers" one of the most iconic Rolling Stones covers ever to illustrate my point. The only problem? It a total crotch shot and the producers said that just wouldn't fly with parents. (It was named the number 1 album cover of all-time by VH1.)

I see where they're coming from (uhmm, who couldn't?!) because this album cover was totally scandalous when it came out. And let's be honest, it's still a little shocking but I think parents are less scandalized by record covers than the producers thought they would be. Would your mom or dad be shocked by this?

Not to mention, the coolest part of the album is that the original one has an actual zipper instead of just a picture. Grant (a total record geek!) keeps his wrapped in plastic. So it's actually a collector's item!

Did you hear me on the radio this morning?

This morning I was on San Francisco's "Don Bleu in the Morning" show on Star 101.3 FM to give some advice on teenagers and dating. And it was a total blast! I wish I could listen to the show every morning. Don, the host, is this super energetic guy and I'm not sure if he has kids or not, but he seemed really in tune with teenagers and parents in general.

They had me on because they got a listener email that basically said this...

Dear Don,
I need a little help from some other parents. I am a single dad and my 14-year old daughter wants to go on a date without a chaperone. This seems ludicrous, but she claims her friends have done it and it’s “no big deal.” I may be a little old fashioned, but 14 seems too young to date. In fact, I was planning on making her wait to date until 17. At what age should my daughter be allowed to date?
Sincerely,
A Worried Dad

First off, don't you love it that you can send in an email with a problem and they might really talk about it on air?! How cool is that?

And this one was perfect because it's a question that a lot of parents deal with. You know, when is too young to date? What's the norm for everyone else? That kind of stuff. But there are a few things you can do to ease your parents into dating:

1. Introduce them to your dates. Seriously, a little hello goes a long way when you're about to hit the town with some guy your dad's never met.
2. Tell them what you're doing. They don't need every single tiny detail, but are you going to a movie? Dinner? Give them the basics so they don't worry.
3. Keep your phone on so they can call if you if there's an emergency. (Note to parents: don't call if there isn't.)

Any other things you've found that work to ease your parents' minds when you're going out on a date? Do tell...