Tag Archives: Amazon
The Second Book in The Truth Series, by Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein has arrived!
Be the first to get your copy of the second book in The Truth Series, called Secrets I’ll tell you Mine if you Tell me Yours…maybe, by going to Amazon Today
Secrets Book Cover
Dr. Holstein, positive psychologist reveals an excerpt from her new book SECRETS
I thought you might like to read an excerpt from the second book in The Truth Series which is due out later this week on Amazon. As soon as I have a link to purchase the book for you I will send out an announcement. In this book, SECRETS: You tell me yours, and I’ll tell you mine…Maybe! the girl is now 13. The family has moved and a whole series of events, dilemmas and occasions to experience the ups and downs of growing up are about to emerge. Here is how the book starts:
June 27
I can’t believe it. Today we moved and I feel like I’m in a dream. I just keep walking around our new house and wondering when we will go home. It feels so different and strange. The floors are all bare wood. Everything is on one floor. It’s called a ranch house, I don’t know why. My mother said our rugs would look terrible here so she let the people who bought our house keep them. I think she was right. They’re a dark maroon and the walls are a light cream in this house. I don’t think that would look good.
I went to the bathroom three times since we got here and every time I used a different bathroom. I can’t believe it. Three different toilets in the same house! Only my friend Susan, my rich friend, has more than two bathrooms. And now we do. I keep measuring the living room. Would you believe it’s 27 feet by 15 feet? I used my own feet and added a few inches each time I took a step.
When I look out of the windows I expect to see the shrubs and the Hudson house to my left and I don’t. Instead I see a big open field that will probably have houses on it by next year. That’s what my father said. And when I look out to the right I expect to see our clothesline and the Dixon’s driveway. Instead I see rose bushes and a wooden bench, under a tree, that the last owners said we could have.
We had to eat supper off paper plates and use wooden throw-away forks, knives and spoons because our boxes are still packed. My aunt made us a big picnic hamper of food and that’s what we ate for supper.
My brother already started to play with a kid next door who’s about a year older than he is. He’s so lucky. I have no one yet and that’s the truth!
Can you feel for the girl as she is suddenly in new surroundings?
Did you ever move growing up?
Do you remember how you felt?
What do you think she wants most to happen and soon? Hint: Look at the last paragraph.
What are some of the things you think might happen to her this year?
Please write to me on www.thetruthforgirls.com or at drbarbara@enchantedself.com
CHINESE VERSION of The Truth (I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything) is now for sale in China and Dr. Holstein has received six copies. The Chinese title is The Truth, with the sub-title being: My Secret Diary. I’m a smart girl. And I know everything!
Can you imagine my excitement when I came to my office last week and saw a package for me from China? I was thrilled just looking at the exotic stamps on the package. But I was much more thrilled when I opened the box and there were six copies of my book The Truth in the Chinese version. First of all, the book is beautiful from start to finish. The cover is white with a shading of pink into rose that I love. The words The Truth appear on the cover, as well as my name B.B. Holstein and of course the name of the publisher, XI’ An Jiaotong University Press. There is a picture of a notebook on the cover and the quotes from the Little Prince that I love, “All grownups were children first. (But few of them remember it.)” And then the second quote: “Grownups never understand anything by themselves, and it is exhausting for children to provide explanations over and over again.”
On the inside flap is my picture and a short bio and also a picture of Professor Chen who translated the book.
There is an introduction that I wrote specifically for China about how we live here. Also there are about 35 diary entries that are unique to this edition of the book. Most of them are about the ‘girl’s’ school life. Some are about other issues that come up in her life, such as when a cousin takes drugs and has to go away to a rehab. Over time I will share many of those entries.
What makes this edition so incredibly charming is the lay-out. Almost every page has a little picture that corresponds to what the girl is talking about on that page in her diary. If the picture doesn’t correspond than it is just some adorable, feminine picture that fits the whole atmosphere of the book. I am so impressed with the effort that went into the lay-out.
Can you feel my excitement? I am really enthralled and somewhat entranced by this book. Some how this edition takes me beyond myself. It speaks to me from a foreign land, and yet I wrote it! It acts as an ambassador of good will to another land and yet I created it! It has taken shape beyond what I was able to give it. It is like a child that one has nurtured and yet now speaks very much in its own voice with its own mission.
I am very happy to follow The Truth wherever it needs to be! And of course, I can’t wait for feedback from China. I hope some children and parents will write to me.
CHINESE VERSION OF THE TRUTH (I’M A GIRL, I’M SMART, AND I KNOW EVERYTHING) IS NOW FOR SALE IN CHINA
1. Would you like to tell us a little about yourself, your family, your profession, and where you live in America?
I am a psychologist in private practice, licensed to practice in the state of New Jersey, where I live. I am married to another psychologist, Dr. Russell Holstein, and we practice together. I have two grown children. My daughter is married and has three children, so I am a grandma and love it. My son is still single. I live about 1 and ½ hours from New York City. I enjoy visiting New York. It is so alive and there is so much going on all the time. I live near the sea and often walk along the beach.
2. Tell us briefly what this book is about and your purpose for writing this book.
This book is about a young girl growing up. She keeps a diary and within the diary speaks from the heart about her life. She has good days and bad days. She is happy and she is sad. She is often wise. All of her adventures and daily life is in these pages.
The purposes of the book is to help grown-ups get back to the child inside of themselves and to help kids feel strong and proud to have a ‘voice’. Sometimes grown-ups forget what it is like to be a kid. Sometimes kids feel worthless and not understood. I hope this book helps to correct both problems.
3. What inspired the story of “The Truth”?
Working with children for so many years as a teacher, school psychologist and private practice psychologist, I realized how important it is to validate the inner thoughts and feelings of young people. The format of a diary seemed to make more sense than the format of a novel. This is the first book in a series. In each book the girl will get older and have new problems.
4. Does the name “The Truth” have special meaning?
Yes, I called it The Truth in English because there is a wisdom within young people that is ignored by grown-ups. Yet young people know they have wisdom and they often know how things should be. They may be powerless to change certain things, but they see the truth.
5. Describe the main character of the little girl. What makes her unique?
The girl is smart. She knows how to do a lot of things. She is very sensitive and can be hurt easily. She worries a lot. She is determined to succeed in life. She wants best friends and she is aware of lots of the problems of growing up. Actually, she is unique and yet she is universal in nature. That is why she is not given a name. Many of us, at least us women, were a lot like her when we were growing up.
Review of The Truth (I'm a girl, I'm smart and I know everything) by a ten year old girl.
A Kid”s Review
“I thought the book and discussion really went deep into a girl”s life; boys, crushes and dealing with yourself. I learned that people should express what they feel inside and always be truthful.” 5th Grader (posted on Amazon)
What do you want in the next edition of The Truth(I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything)?
The book is selling so fast that I am already thinking about reprinting. The Truth (I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything) was #6 in the top 100 on Amazon today in the category of BEING A TEEN. Thanks to everyone who helped with that rank by buying the book! And thanks for telling me that yes, there is a place for the world of positive psychology and fiction to merge!
So, I thought you might want to share some ideas with me. In the next edition, would you like: 1. more secret diary entries that have never been public before? 2. Pages from the second book in the series where the girl is a year older? and/or 3. More questions and activities you can do after you read the book? Please let me know what you would prefer!
The Truth (I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything) is #11 in top 100 on Amazon for BEING A TEEN
I would think the girl in The Truth would enjoy knowing that she is captivating the hearts of girls and moms in lots of different places. She loves to travel, but so far has only traveled to one place that wasn’t where she lived. That was the time she got to take a ride in a small plane, sitting alone in the tiny cockpit, with the pilot directly in front of her. What a ride that was. Going up, up, up into the sky, seeing all the houses and then neighborhoods below her, and realzing that her very own parents had become tiny specks. It was an amazing adventure for her, filled with a little fear, offset by holding the pilot’s hand. Of course, he was handsome and dashing and that helped quiet her fears. She came down all too soon, back to the somewhat dull reality of visiting her relatives. That episode is on p.53 of the book. (She tells it better than I can).
She would be amazed to hear that people are sitting at what looks something like a typewriter and ordering her book from a place called Amazon. She does know about THE amazon from her geography class, but what is this? Is her book being stored in the jungle somewhere?
What I do know for certain is that she wants to hear from you. So please write to her after you read The Truth (I’m a girl, I’m smart and I know everything). Tell her what your greatest adventure has been or have fun explaining what a computer is. Be pen pals.