Talking Smack
Glenn Williams
Authentic Publishing, 2010, 172 pp., $13.99, Biblica.com
The proliferation of drugs and alcohol in high school is well known to any parent today. Talking Smack offers hope to parents: There are strategies you can use to help a teenager navigate the waters of peer pressure and independence. Through a focus on communication between parents and children, the book gives tips on setting boundaries and good parenting.
Unfortunately, while trying to counsel adults and encourage communication, Talking Smack does a variety of things with little depth. In terms of setting boundaries, an actual book on parenting or a visit with a counselor would be more productive. The slim volume focuses on engagement without a strong Christian thrust, and then does little to inform the reader about actual drug use. Ultimately, the book is a solid reminder to engage in such conversations with teens and pre-teens but offers little prescriptive information that isn’t available on the Internet.
