First love Guiding teens through relationships and heartbreak

Phillips follows up her memoir, Unrequited (2015), with this guidebook for parents of teens wading into new emotional waters, providing them with solid instruction, tips for healthy modeling, and recommended communication strategies. Chapters cover early crushes, the typical trajectory of nascent relationships, signs of unhealthy patterns and abuse, unique challenges for queer and nonbinary teens, and ways to provide support when a relationship ends. Phillips combines her personal experience, expert advice, and interviews with a diverse range of perspectives via case studies. The guide identifies the all-consuming and mercurial range of adolescent emotions, which require delicate handling. It also reminds parents to consider conditions in today's sociopolitical climate that may differ vastly from what they themselves experienced. Phillips concedes that peer support is highly valued and valuable, but mature guidance from caring adults may be better suited to handle problematic or abusive situations. With a reassuring tone and a wonderfully inclusive spectrum of relationship scenarios, Phillips provides realistic and helpful advice reflecting today's culture and specific challenges for the newly enamored.