I’m a big fan of Donna Jackson Nakazawa's work. As a holistic psychotherapist, I routinely recommend her books to clients and friends and am excited about Girls on the Brink. Donna has a straightforward and warm writing style and a knack for translating scientific concepts into accessible language. Drawing from cutting edge neuroscience, she reveals the biological and emotional effects of the significant stressors girls face in our society today. This stress has led to an increase in anxiety, depression, and self-harm. Donna shares examples and, with thoughtful sensitivity, walks us through the many emotional challenges our girls struggle with in a society not often supportive of, and that at times undermines, girls’ healthy development. In this hopeful book, Donna offers 15 powerful and simple strategies that parents, relatives, and professionals can immediately put into practice to help girls foster strong self-worth, emotional connectedness with self and others, and feelings of inner and outer safety. If you’re a parent or have girls in your life, buy this book right now! It’s an essential resource for your girls’ wellbeing.

Donna Jackson Nakazawa does it again with her upcoming book, Girls on the Brink: Helping Our Daughters Thrive in an Era of Increased Anxiety, Depression, and Social Media. She blends real-life situations with scientific knowledge and analysis. And concluding the book with strong antidotes goes a long way to helping parents and mentors counter the toxicity of girls’ everyday lives.

Jackson Nakazawa breaks the content into three distinct sections: explaining the situation, exploring the science, and offering fifteen achievable antidotes. Through it all, she uses the lives of three young women to illustrate her points and balance science with reality.

This is a must-read for every parent, teacher, and health care professional. Jackson Nakazawa has already published several books about science, medicine, and brain health using women’s experiences and perspectives. Now she turns her eyes to the next generation. Considering the prominence of cyberbullying, among other concerns, the choice makes perfect sense.

Adverse versus Positive Childhood Experiences
Jackson Nakazawa previously wrote about the science behind adverse childhood experiences (ACES) in Childhood Disrupted. Significant ACES affect our lifelong health. But, here she revisits that information as it happens rather than decades down the line. By describing the lives of those three young women, the author illustrates the short-term impact of absentee parents, poverty, childhood sexual abuse, as well as other situations.

Conversely, Jackson Nakazawa also discusses the impact of positive mentors and community, such as teachers and nurturing social situations. Hopefully, seeing girls’ lives from this perspective will inspire more adults to truly listen to and support the young women in their lives.

Puberty and Hormones
Girls’ early teen years are made more complicated by the hormonal changes they experience. And girls experience puberty even earlier now. This means that the time between childhood and the teen years accelerates. Coping with the change is a struggle for girls and their families. Jackson Nakazawa shines the light of information and antidotes into this space.

It’s also worth noting that social media and popular culture over-sexualize girls and teens. The back-to-school styles are more provocative than ever. Girls judge themselves against adult influencers on TikTok and every other platform. Jackson Nakazawa explains why this is concerning and offers better ways to approach it with our girls.

My Conclusions
This book is full to the brim with information and ideas. Attempting to summarize every point would only do it a disservice. But as I worked my way through it, Jackson Nakazawa offered invaluable insights. Most importantly, she reminds us to listen to girls and provide them a safe space to talk out their challenges.

Jackson Nakazawa’s other books tell her own story, which also illustrates an important point. She repeatedly encourages parents, especially mothers, to deal with their ACES and trauma. Not only does it model positive behavior for girls, but it also helps keep the temperature down when girls’ teenage issues heat up.

It’s also worth saying that the author’s perspective is a feminist one. She reminds us that girls’ rights are human rights. And we as adults made this world, which challenges kids today, especially girls. That attitude resonates with my own and enhances Girls on the Brink.

Jackson Nakazawa is a mom as well as an author, so she’s got skin in the game. That adds to her nuanced understanding of 21st-century girls and teen life. This book is essential reading for moms, dads, grandparents, favorite aunts, and anyone who influences a girl’s life. Pick up a few extra to give as holiday gifts—I know I am.

Acknowledgments
Many thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Random House, and the author for a digital advanced reader’s copy in exchange for this honest review. The expected publication date for this book is September 13, 2022.

I received a free e-arc of this book through Netgalley. This review is completely my own thoughts and opinions.
It was very interesting to read about why adolescent girls have a harder time with anxiety and depression because of our biology, but that doesn't mean that girls are the weaker sex.
"Stressors unique to modern life including: amplification of toxic gendered messaging via social media, loss of freedom, emotional safety and play in late childhood, increased pressure to succeed and perform, the general chaotic state of the world." This all plays into our biology that tells us not to be kicked out of the tribe, to conform. The dichotomy that we say men and women are equal while there is still blatant mysogny in the workplace, the classroom, and every where else. The author provides 15 antidotes to try to combat the stressors that our daughters face in the world. I found it to be an interesting read with hope amidst the pain.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I did find it to be a bit redundant and didn't necessarily agree with all of the author's assumptions, but her intentions are good and some or her advice was helpful. I do feel like she doesn't accurately describe how affected men are by stress as well since it is less socially acceptable for them to express it than females. I tried to overlook that for the sake of the book being about females, but it did still bother me when brought up throughout. I really liked her recommendations on connection and forming strong bonds with daughters while postponing or avoiding their social media use.

Girls on the Brink is a great read for anyone who knows and cares about girls today. Jackson Nakazawa does a great job making accessible the science behind why girls are struggling so much with their mental health today. I appreciated that she provided concrete things individuals can do to support the girls in our lives, while also emphasizing the fact that to truly fix these problems requires societal change. Highly recommend!