New Faith-based Book Helps Teachers and Parents Communicate With Tweens and Teens

CINCINNATI - June 5, 2014 - PRLog -- Today's young teens will face many challenges before they reach adulthood, and they'll need guidance. But it's not easy for adults to open up discussion on uncomfortable subjects like pornography, modesty, cyberbullying, materialism, body image, depression or substance abuse. Parents and teachers hope kids will rely on the faith principles they've been taught, but young people often find it difficult to understand the relevance of faith to their real-life problems. Adults want to help, but they don't feel confident they can handle the job.

Tackling Tough Topics with Faith and Fiction is designed to help caring adults guide tweens and teens as they deal with life's morally challenging situations. This user-friendly resource book includes reproducible materials, and its flexible format makes it easy to utilize in school, at home, or in church programs. Each chapter centers on a story about a contemporary teen facing a faith-challenging issue but also includes facts about the issue, scripture and Catholic Catechism connections, discussion questions, a suggested activity, and more. Supplemental material includes an appendix of possible activities, a reproducible letter explaining the program to parents, a handout with advice for kids who want to help friends with their problems, and a parent handout with suggestions about how to talk to teens.

Atlanta Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory says that Tackling Tough Topics with Faith and Fiction is "full of help and hope." He explains, "This practical book provides adult leaders a step-by-step guide to introduce sensitive subjects and helps youth learn to follow Christ in the midst of the tough situations of their everyday lives."

Lisa Mladinich, author and founder of AmazingCatechists.com, calls Tackling Tough Topics with Faith and Fiction "extraordinary in its power and simplicity." She praises Jenkins's short stories and describes the other resources in each chapter as "unified, coherent, and profoundly satisfying."

"I hope Tackling Tough Topics with Faith and Fiction helps teachers and parents, catechists and homeschoolers feel more comfortable opening up conversations about difficult topics," says author Diana R. Jenkins. "Today's kids are counting on adults to help them live their faith."

About the Book:

Release date: MARCH 2014

ISBN-10:  0-8198-7495-7

ISBN-13: 978-08198-7495-5

$11.95 USD

80 Pages

Paperback

8½ x 11 Inches

Teacher Resources/Middle Grade/Junior High/Teens

Available through the publisher at www.pauline.org

About the author:

After over twenty years as a special education teacher, Diana R. Jenkins became a freelance writer. She has written hundreds of magazine stories, articles, and comic strips for kids and teens as well as a number of books. Her books include Goodness Graces – Ten Short Stories About the Sacraments and Saints of Note – The Comic Collection (both published by Pauline), and Just Deal With It! Funny Readers Theatre for Life's Not-So-Funny Moments (ABC-CLIO). She lives in Montgomery, Ohio with her husband, a medical physicist. Visit her on the web at www.dianarjenkins.bravehost.com.