Using Literature to Help Troubled Teenagers Cope with Health Issues

Using Literature to Help Troubled Teenagers Cope with Health Issues

Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881. 313p., bibliog., index. (Greenwood Press "Using Literature to Help Troubled Teenagers" Series). ISBN 0-313-30531-5. $39.95.
edited by Cynthia Ann Bowman. 2000.

Teenagers have a difficult time in coping with their health, whether it is a life threatening disease or the loss of a limb through an accident. Each student has his or her own way of coping. One common thread, however, is that many of the students "found strength, wisdom, or comfort in the pages of a book, escaping from pain, fear, and anger through literature. Good literature that gives adolescents the truth has incredible power to heal and renew." Poor health interferes with learning and good health helps the individual to learn better. The advancement of medicine has solved many of the traditional health problems. However, the world of technology in which we live has created many new behavior-related problems, including motor vehicle accidents, substance abuse, eating disorders, sexually transmitted diseases, depression, and gun-related violence. Teenagers are constantly bombarded with a multitude of emotional problems, presenting challenges to those who treat these individuals.

This book provides recommended readings for teenagers who are faced with these emotional challenges. Each chapter covers a different medical challenge, beginning with a discussion of all aspects of the challenge, which cover birth defects, sensory impairments, cancer, diabetes, ADHD, mental health, depression, eating disorders, anorexia, HIV/AIDS, alcoholism, and Alzheimer's. Each chapter discusses one or two of the books listed in the recommended reading, pointing out how someone else has coped with the disease or impairment. This is followed with activities, issues for the therapist, and exercises.

This is an exceptional book that is highly recommended for all libraries.

Keywords: Bibliotherapy for Teenagers; Teenager Diseases; Young Adult Literature; Secondary Study and Teaching).
011128
BK011102

Copyright © 2001 - The University of Illinois at Chicago. All materials in the journal are subject to copyright by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois and may be reprinted or redistributed for the noncommercial purpose of scientific or educational advancement granted by Sections 107 and 108 of the Copyright Revision Act of 1976. For other reprinting, redistribution, or translation, address requests to H. Robert Malinowsky, University of Illinois at Chicago Library, PO Box 8198, Chicago, IL 60680 or electronically to hrm@uic.edu.

AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Elton John AIDS Foundation, iMetrikus, Inc., John M. Lloyd Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2001. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2001. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .