Everything I Couldn't Tell My Mother, Paperback

Everything I Couldn't Tell My Mother is a coming-of-age story for any woman who

has ever questioned her sexual maturity and readiness, stayed silent at a time when

she should have spoken up or accepted treatment that was less than what she

Aaliyah Panarese is the teenage daughter of successful, overprotective parents who

want the best for her but rarely consider her hopes and dreams. Under the matriarchal

rules of her abusive mother, Aaliyah is expected to, without question, follow in

her footsteps and attend law school after she graduates from high school. Frustrated

and too cowardly to express her dreams of becoming a writer, she escapes life's harsh

realities by journaling heartfelt letters to her mother inside a diary, hoping that one

day they will be the keys to rebuilding trust and

strengthening the emotional connection that is lacking between them.

In a desperate attempt to nd her voice, and feel accepted and loved, she befriends

Stacy, Tonja and Manny--the most rebellious girls at her school. Aaliyah follows the

crowd, breaks her parents' rules and is quickly thrown into a battlefield marked with

peer pressure, self-loathing, sexual discovery and broken friendships. Her journey

takes dramatic twists and turns while delivering a cautionary tale that is grounded in

the reality of what it is to be a teenager in today's instant-access generation.