As you know from reading my blog, The Truth (I’m a Girl, I’m Smart and I Know Everything!), is a journey with a 10 year old girl. As her diary, this book is meant for any child, parent, aunt or uncle, grandparent or friend whose life includes a young girl. Open the door to her worries, joys & fears. I am so proud of this book as it is one of my contributions to the field of positive psychology and also my contribution to helping kids grow up strong and vital! Buy it and get $8000 in bonuses – http://tinyurl.com/m8ooto
Author Archives: Barbara Holstein
The ‘Girl’ goes to CHINA!
Most of you know by this time that The Truth (I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything) is about to be released in China in an expanded version. It will include both English and Chinese and over 35 Diary entries that have never been seen in this country! The title there will be: How an American Girl Grows Up. Having my book appear in a major country, such as China, for kids and adults to read is a true blessing.
Over the past year so many moms, kids, teachers, grandmas and others have given the book great endorsements and also wonderful feedback, support and wisdom. I have listened carefully to all of you. In fact, already in the Chinese version I have incorporated aspects of what you have been saying. And there will be more changes when The Truth is reprinted and of course your feedback has influenced the second book which I have just finished! Look for it within six months. In the second book, Secrets, the girl is a year older. Lots of adventures and challenges happen. So stay tuned.
Meanwhile, I thought you would enjoy reading one of the excerpts from the Chinese version of The Truth, NEVER seen before in this country.
“My mother took me over to my new school. It is gigantic. I never saw such a big building except the hospital.
The principal was very nice to me. His name is Mr. Palmquist. He is old. I think about 55. I can’t imagine him being mean to the kids. He showed me the classrooms and the lockers in the hallways. Then we went to see the cafeteria that had beautiful paintings on the walls. He said that long ago when artists didn’t have any work, President Roosevelt had a plan. Let them all paint beautiful paintings on public buildings and the government would pay them.
So a bunch of them came to this school and decorated the cafeteria and some of the hallways.
I can’t wait to eat in the cafeteria.
Mr. Palmquist said that he had picked a very nice homeroom teacher for me and I should be very happy there.
I hope I will be happy. Right now I’m just scared and I miss everyone and I wish we had never moved. And that’s the truth.”
As you can see, this excerpt deals with the girl starting school in a new town. She is scared, as most of us are, when new things are happening. As you can see, there are many issues in the above short episode for mom and daughter to talk about. Adjusting to new circumstances is an universal situation we all face. From my point of view, as a positive psychologist, the ‘girl’ is a fictional character in and of herself, but she is also a jumping off point for really important topics, that have lots of feelings and issues surrounding them, that we all need to process at one time or another.
Keep sharing your feelings and ideas! After all, the third book is already on the horizon.
The Truth Official Book Launch
Girls between 8 and 12 can and do everything. However, adolescence can be very hard on girls and years later many a woman has lost touch with her earlier talents, strengths, potential or what makes her happy. I worked to develop a companionship with the 10-year old inside myself. Suddenly, getting to know myself as a child again was serious psychological business.
That’s when I wrote a journal-style book, The Truth (I’m a Girl, I’m Smart and I Know Everything!) If you are a woman, it will make you want to dance with your inner 10-year old and make her energies a part of yourself again. If you are an adult, you will see the child in your life in a much more profound light. You will want to help her hold on to her wisdom, wit, sense of competency and self-esteem. If you are a kid or a ‘tween, you will feel understood and connected to this fictional girl. After all, she is like you. The girl sees so much and knows so much as we all did at 10 or 11. And wouldn”t it be great to hold on to the energy and confidence that can go with that stage of life?
Women and girls of all ages, kids, tweens, teens, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles thank me for bringing this book to them. It opens the door to communication, and they see themselves, their daughters, nieces and granddaughters in the girl. Girls feel she is speaking for them while women remark that they wish this book had existed when they were growing up.
Now, this book is available on Amazon and those who buy it will also receive nearly $6,500 in free downloadable gifts!
Enjoy!
Your friend,
Barbara Becker Holstein
Reflection
Barbara and book club
Summer is here, but I am still basking in the memories of the fun time I had at the Brielle School Girls Night Out. Here is a picture of me with a bunch of the girls who had read The Truth (I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything). And here is part of the note I received from The G.I.R.L. Club: “We loved when you talked about your book with the club! We also enjoyed when you talked about your inspiration and it gave us an eye opening experience to get us to do whatever we want to do in life…”
THE ENCHANTED SELF, MYSELF AND THE GIRL IN The Truth (I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything) are all going to China!
My book, The Truth (I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything) is about to be published in a Chinese version in China. For me, as a woman, and a psychologist, this is my contribution to making the world a better place, particularly for women and girls. Everywhere in the world girls need to feel good about themselves and figure out ways to hold on to their talents, passions and potential as they grow up. Here, in China and everywhere. My book helps them do that. The book is in both Chinese and English. And is in an expanded version with more diary pages that cover other subjects. For example there are more pages about school work and school activities in the Chinese version. That decision was made in part to give people in China a fuller sense of what it is like to grow up in the United States.
Still the book has within all the text that make it a charming, fun diary full of wisdom written by a kid. However, many of you may not realize that within the book, both the American version and the Chinese version are many of the core Enchanted Self concepts developed carefully by me, as a positive psychologist, over the last 20 years. These concepts are designed to help women of all ages, whether she is 11 or 75. We all need a positive sense of ourselves that is reinforced from within and from without. As we identify with the girl and her fictional diary, we are give a large dose of encouragement to be true to ourselves, no matter at what stage of life we are.
For me, the book being published in China is a dream coming true. I had always wanted penpals in other parts of the world. Now, I will be sure to have lots from China. I guess I had better start learning some Chinese and planing a trip to China. The girl inside of me is happy. I didn’t let her down. It took many years to connect some of my girlhood dreams into a life event that I helped to create as an adult. I didn’t give up. I hope you will also stay true to as many of your dreams as you can also.
For more on the core concepts of THE ENCHANTED SELF go to my other two websites:
HOW DID THE TRUTH (I'M A GIRL, I'M SMART AND I KNOW EVERYTHING) COME TO BE?
As a positive psychologist, a school psychologist and a former teacher, I began to think, how could I write a book that will spark just everyone? If you are a kid, a tween or a teen, you will feel understood and connected to this fictional girl. After all, she is like you. She thinks about many of the things you think about and she makes promises about what she will be like when she grows up, just like you do.
If you are a woman, it will make you want to dance with yourself and with your inner 10 year old and make her energies a part of yourself again.
If you are a mom, you will see your child in a much more profound light. You will want to help her hold on to her wisdom, wit, sense of competency and self-esteem
If you are a grandparent you will want your child and her child to read the book so that they will both have a chance to develop to their fullest and to stay communicating through all the tough years ahead.
If you are a teacher you will want girls to read the book so they will feel strong and resilient and see that they can hold on to the best of themselves!
So the character came alive. I felt a fictional diary was the way to go. The girl, as many fictional characters do, helped me write the book. She shared her frustrations and her competencies, and she even managed to solve a little around how she could hold on to the best of herself as she grew up. How she solved the mystery is so endearing, but I can’t give it away because I want you to read the book.
Fun at Girl’s Night Out at Brielle School and the Girls Club in Manasquan School.
The picture is of me, Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein at the Girl’s Club that meets in the Manasquan School. Soon I’ll have a picture of me at the Girl’s Club Girl’s Night Out at the Brielle School, which is located just a few miles away. Both visits were such a treat for me. In Manasquan I got to chat with the girls at the fifth grade level and again another day at the sixth grade level. All were reading The Truth (I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything). At the Brielle School, the kids were sixth graders and they had finished reading the book. I learned so much from the girls. I’m very happy to report that the diary format appealed to all the girls and that they felt that the girl in the book really thinks in her head like a fifth or sixth grader. All were interested in a second book in the series. So many of the girls wanted to know how I started to write and was the girl from real life. I explained that I myself started keeping a diary in the fourth grade and that certainly helped me practice writing. (Even if the spelling was awful). I also shared that some of the events that happened to the girl happened to me or clients of mine, or friends. She was really a merger of all of us. As she should be to share universal truths. One compliment I received was that the book stayed true to the very end in tone and quality, rather than rushing to a conclusion that felt artificial or lacking.