|
Basic InformationMore InformationLatest NewsParents, Arm Your Kids Against COVID-19 With Good Hand-Washing HabitsToo Little Sleep Takes Toll on Kids' Mental Health: StudyU.S. Kids, Teens Eating Better But Nutrition Gaps PersistHow to Keep Housebound Kids Busy During a PandemicCalming Your Child's Coronavirus FearsAnother Study Finds COVID-19 Typically Mild for KidsSoap vs. Coronavirus: Best Hand-Washing Tips for You and Your KidsKids Get Mild COVID-19 Symptoms, But Chance of Transmission High: StudyWhen Chronic Pain Leads to Depression in KidsPost-Game Snacks May Undo Calorie-Burning Benefit of Kids' SportsPick Summer Camps Carefully When Your Kid Has Allergies, AsthmaKids Raised by Grandparents More Likely to Pile on Pounds: StudyKeep Your Kids Safe, Warm in Wintertime FunHow to Dispel Your Child's Fears About the New CoronavirusDiabetes Among U.S. Young, Especially Asians, Continues to ClimbMom-to-Be's Cosmetics Chemicals Could Lead to Heavier BabyMeds May Not Prevent Migraines in KidsAHA News: For Kids With Heart Defects, the Hospital Near Mom May Matter1 in 4 Gets Unneeded Antibiotics at Children's HospitalsVitamin D in Pregnancy Doesn't Curb Kids' AsthmaFirst Drug Approved for Treatment of Peanut Allergy in ChildrenWhat's the Best Treatment for a Child's Broken Bone?Are Antibiotics a Recipe for Obesity in Childhood?This Year's Flu Season Taking Deadly Aim at KidsWhy Are Fewer U.S. Kids Going to Pediatricians?Severe Deprivation in Childhood Has Lasting Impact on Brain SizeHealth Tip: What Your Child Can do About BullyingWildfires Send Kids to ERs for Breathing ProblemsTV Can Be a Good Influence on Kids' Eating HabitsWould Tighter Swimming Rules at Public Beaches, Lakes and Rivers Save Lives?U.S. Doctors Often Test, Treat Kids UnnecessarilyHealth Tip: Safety Steps if Your Child is Home AloneHealth Tip: Help Your Child Safely Lose WeightAmericans Need to Tackle Youth Obesity: U.S. Task ForceGenes, Family Are Key Predictors of School SuccessKids' 'Microbiome' May Play Key Role in AsthmaA Puppy in Santa's Sack? Probably Not, Say ParentsMore Kids, Teens Landing in ERs After Opioid OverdosesGetting Active Helps Kids' Hearts, Even in the ObeseWhen Does Your Child's Flu Merit an ER Visit?Health Tip: Managing Hearing Loss in ChildrenHealth Tip: Is My Child Too Sick to Go to School?Differences Found in Brains of Kids Born to Depressed ParentsSecondhand Smoke Starts Kids on Path to Heart Disease: StudyHealth Tip: Choosing a PediatricianMany Kids Traveling Overseas Aren't Vaccinated Against MeaslesCould Obesity Alter a Child's Brain Structure?Dramatic Rise in Eye Injuries From BB and Paintball GunsTwo-Thirds of Child Abuse Survivors Do Well as AdultsAHA News: Serious Heart Defects Increase Heart Failure Risk in Early Adulthood Questions and AnswersVideosLinksBook Reviews100 Things Guys Need to Know3 NBS of Julian DrewA Guide to Asperger SyndromeA Tribe ApartA User Guide to the GF/CF Diet for Autism, Asperger Syndrome and AD/HDA Walk in the Rain With a BrainAdolescence and Body ImageAdolescent DepressionAfterAggression and Antisocial Behavior in Children and AdolescentsAll Alone in the UniverseAmelia RulesAmericaAnother PlanetAntisocial Behavior in Children and AdolescentsArtemis FowlAssessment and Treatment of Childhood Problems, Second EditionAutistic Spectrum DisordersBad GirlBetween Two WorldsBeyond AppearanceBeyond Diversity DayBig Mouth & Ugly GirlBill HensonBipolar DisordersBody Image, Eating Disorders, and ObesityBody Image, Eating Disorders, and Obesity in YouthBoyBoysBrandedBreaking PointBreathing UnderwaterBringing Up ParentsBullying and TeasingCan't Eat, Won't EatCatalystChild and Adolescent Psychological DisordersChildren Changed by TraumaChildren with Emerald EyesChildren’s Dreaming and the Development of Consciousness City of OneConcise Guide to Child and Adolescent PsychiatryConquering the Beast WithinContentious IssuesCrackedCutDancing in My NuddypantsDemystifying the Autistic ExperienceDescartes' BabyDilemmas of DesireDirtyDoing ItDoing SchoolDying to Be ThinEating an ArtichokeEducating Children With AutismElijah's CupEllison the ElephantEmerald City BluesEmotional and Behavioral Problems of Young ChildrenEvery Girl Tells a StoryFast GirlsFeather BoyFiregirlForever YoungFreaks, Geeks and Asperger SyndromeFreewillGeography ClubGeorgia Under WaterGirl in the MirrorGirlfightingGirlsourceGirlWiseGLBTQGood GirlsGoodbye RuneGranny Torrelli Makes SoupGrowing Up GirlHandbook for BoysHealing ADDHeartbeatHelping Children Cope With Disasters and TerrorismHelping Parents, Youth, and Teachers Understand Medications for Behavioral and Emotional ProblemsHollow KidsHow Children Learn the Meanings of WordsHow to Keep Your Teenager Out of Trouble and What to Do If You Can'tHug MeIntrusive ParentingIt's Me!It's Perfectly NormalJake RileyJoey Pigza Swallowed the KeyJuvenile-Onset SchizophreniaKeeping the MoonKilling MonstersKim: Empty InsideKnocked Out by My Nunga-NungasLaura Numeroff's 10-Step Guide to Living with Your MonsterLearning About School ViolenceLeo the Lightning BugLet Kids Be KidsLiberation's ChildrenLife As We Know ItLisa, Bright and DarkLittle ChicagoLord of the FliesLoserLove and SexLove That DogManicMastering Anger and AggressionMind FieldsMiss American PieMom, Dad, I'm Gay.MonsterMore Than a LabelMyths of ChildhoodNew Hope for Children and Teens with Bipolar DisorderNo Two AlikeNot Much Just Chillin'Odd Girl OutOdd Girl Speaks OutOn the Frontier of AdulthoodOne Hot SecondOne in ThirteenOphelia SpeaksOphelia's MomOur Journey Through High Functioning Autism and Asperger SyndromeOut of the DustOvercoming School AnxietyParenting and the Child's WorldParenting Your Out-Of-Control TeenagerPediatric PsychopharmacologyPeriod PiecesPhobic and Anxiety Disorders in Children and AdolescentsPINSPraising Boys WellPraising Girls WellPretty in PunkPrincess in the SpotlightProblem Child or Quirky Kid?Psychotherapy As PraxisPsychotherapy for Children and AdolescentsRaising a Self-StarterRaising BlazeRaising Resilient ChildrenReclaiming Our ChildrenRedressing the EmperorReducing Adolescent RiskRethinking ADHDReweaving the Autistic TapestryRineke DijkstraRitalin is Not the Answer Action GuideRunning on RitalinSay YesSexual Teens, Sexual MediaSexuality in AdolescenceShooterShort PeopleShould I Medicate My Child?Skin GameSmackSmashedStaying Connected to Your TeenagerStick FigureStoner & SpazStop Arguing with Your KidsStraight Talk about Your Child's Mental HealthStrong, Smart, & BoldStudent DepressionSurvival Strategies for Parenting Children with Bipolar DisorderSurviving OpheliaTaking Charge of ADHD, Revised EditionTaming the Troublesome ChildTargeting AutismTeaching Problems and the Problems of TeachingTeen Angst? NaaahThat SummerThe American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook Of Child And Adolescent PsychiatryThe Arctic IncidentThe Bipolar ChildThe Buffalo TreeThe Bully, the Bullied, and the BystanderThe Carnivorous CarnivalThe Depressed ChildThe Developing MindThe Dragons of AutismThe Dream BearerThe Dulcimer Boy The Einstein SyndromeThe EpidemicThe Eternity CubeThe Explosive ChildThe Field of the DogsThe First IdeaThe Identity TrapThe Inside Story on Teen GirlsThe Little TernThe Mean Girl MotiveThe Men They Will BecomeThe Myth of LazinessThe New Gay TeenagerThe Notebook GirlsThe Nurture AssumptionThe Opposite of InvisibleThe Order of the Poison OakThe Other ParentThe Present Moment in Psychotherapy and Everyday LifeThe Real Truth About Teens and SexThe Rise and Fall of the American TeenagerThe Secret Lives of GirlsThe Sex Lives of TeenagersThe Shared HeartThe Spider and the BeeThe StepsThe Thought that CountsThe Unhappy ChildThe Vile VillageThe Whole ChildThen Again, Maybe I Won'tTherapy with ChildrenThings I Have to Tell YouTouching Spirit BearTrauma in the Lives of ChildrenTreacherous LoveTrue BelieverTwistedUnhappy TeenagersWay to Be!We're Not MonstersWhat about the KidsWhat Would Joey Do?What's Happening to My Body? Book for BoysWhat's Happening to My Body? Book for GirlsWhen Nothing Matters AnymoreWhen Sex Goes to SchoolWhen Your Child Has an Eating DisorderWhere The Kissing Never StopsWhose America?Why Are You So Sad?WinnicottWorried All the TimeYes, Your Teen Is Crazy!You Hear MeYoung People and Mental HealthYour Child, Bully or Victim? |
| |
by Margaret Sartor Bloomsbury USA, 2006 Review by Christian Perring, Ph.D. on Jul 3rd 2007 
Miss American Pie is the diary of Margaret Sartor, from January 1972 when she was in seventh grade, to 1977 when she graduated from high school. She and her family lived in Montgomery, Louisiana. The photographs of her show she was blonde, blue eyed, and beautiful. She was also a good writer, although it isn't clear how much she has edited her diaries for publication. She writes about dating boys, her friendship with her next door neighbor Tommy, her feelings about God and religion, her parents and the rest of her family, and her friendships with other girls. The book is often touching or funny as Margaret has many typical experiences and describes them earnestly. For example from 1972, when she was 12: March 15 Pam likes Angela and I think they are getting to be best friends. March 16 I don't like Pam any more. May 2 Been smoking lately but decided to give it up. May 3 Math is stupid May 5 I understand Math. Even at 12, she had crushes on boys, but by 14 she is really struggling with her feelings, which can change quickly. From 1974: January 30 I'm so attracted to Mitch & I wish I could make it stop. April 9 Chris told me that he loved me. I didn't know what to say, so said thank you. April 11. Chris and I had a big fight! He found out that I told Tommy that he told me he loved me. I was mad but I learned something. I learned that I shouldn't tell things to people if there is a chance I might regret it later. April 17 I think I've decided to like (love?) Chris. April 28 Every time I see Mitch I like it, and so I guess I like him. I talked to Chris about splitting up but he kept saying how much he loved me & so we're still dating. May 5 Hung out with Tommy and Jackson. I felt so attracted to Jackson ... but a different way. June 7 I can't stop thinking about Mitch. Margaret's feelings for different boys jumps around like this throughout the diary, although Mitch, Jackson and Tommy continue to play central roles. She and Tommy are very close friends, and she wonders why they don't get romantic. The fact that he collected Barbra Streisand records did not give her a clue, which is sweet. While her parents were not very religious, Margaret is passionate in her search for God. She tries different churches and often has intense experiences, yet none of it quite sticks. It's tempting to think of her romance with God to be similar to her romances with boys, although she does maintain her relationship to God on a more permanent basis than with any boy. One of the funniest parts of Margaret's diary occurs in her senior year, when she is feeling very unhappy and decides to go to a psychiatrist. She transcribes their conversations, showing the man to be almost comically unwilling to state a view or even show concern about her. Instead, he answers all of her questions with his own. The first and last chapters of the book are written by Sartor in the present, introducing her family and wrapping with an update of what happened to the people she spent so much time writing about. It would have been interesting if she had written more on her feelings about these figures from her past, but she is fairly careful about how much she reveals. There's plenty of material here for psychologists to speculate on how Sartor's life exemplifies different theories of adolescent development; however, most readers will prefer just to enjoy how well these diaries bring to life a teenage girl's inner life. Links: · NPR story on Miss American Pie, interviewing Margaret Sartor. · Margaret Sartor website © 2007 Christian Perring. All rights reserved. Christian Perring, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Dowling College, Long Island. He is also editor of Metapsychology Online Reviews. His main research is on philosophical issues in medicine, psychiatry and psychology. |
