The book is here…officially published, in stores, online!  I mean, of course, My Teenage Werewolf, the book.  The book that is responsible for — that precipitated — this blog.

I started working on the book back when Lizzie was 12.  That was the year I toppled from my throne.  No longer Queen Mommy, no longer the font of all things fun, I was, all of a sudden, the enemy.  The Arch Enemy.  The one to whom icy stares were directed.  The one on the other side of the slammed bedroom door.  What happened?  Where was my sweet little girl?

I didn’t want my 12-year-old back.  I knew she had to grow up, and I knew that a big part of growing up was finding her own identity.  But I needed to maintain a bit of sanity while this happened…and some measure of peace in the household.  Things were getting pretty dicey.  Lizzie and I were locking horns most days, fighting about chores, homework, screen-time, clothing, food, friends, wet towels on the floor.  We were fighting about everything…and nothing.  Most mornings we eyed each other warily, wanting to see who would cast the first stone – neither of us free of sin, both of us well armed.

And so I did what I had to do – what any crazed mother who also happened to be an immersion reporter would do:  I launched myself on an 18-month mission, traipsing from seventh and eighth grade classrooms, to playing fields, to the mall, to summer camp, to online chat groups where I observed, chronicled—and sometimes participated in—the life of a 21^st-century teen…my 21^st century teen… my teenage werewolf.

There is no relationship quite as primal, as vitally important, or as deeply conflicted as the one between mother and daughter.  And there is no time quite as challenging in that relationship as when the daughter passes from child to teen.  It was on the precipice of this transformation that I embarked on this journey to understand and strengthen my suddenly rocky relationship with Lizzie.

I learned a lot researching and writing this book.  A lot about teen girl culture, about mothers and daughters, about my daughter, about myself as a daughter.  And when the book ended, when I turned in the manuscript, I didn’t want the learning to end.  I didn’t want what Lizzie and I had found together to get lost.  So we launched this blog.  And we continue talking.  We hope you’ll continue to listen in – and join in.  And, of course, I hope you’ll read the book.

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