cover image Teens Under the Influence: The Truth about Kids, Alcohol, and Other Drugs- How to Recognize the Problem and What to Do about It

Teens Under the Influence: The Truth about Kids, Alcohol, and Other Drugs- How to Recognize the Problem and What to Do about It

Katherine Ketcham, Nicholas A. Pace. Ballantine Books, $14.95 (432pp) ISBN 978-0-345-45734-9

Ketcham (Under the Influence) and Pace, founding director of the American Council on Drug Education, present an honest and factual look at the problem of teenage substance abuse in this valuable parenting resource. Their compassionate approach should be highly valuable both to parents of children who are already abusing drugs and alcohol, and to those who want to prevent their kids from ever using. The book is painstaking and thorough, with a detailed chapter on each drug and how it works. The authors even explain what each drug's high is like (e.g.,""cocaine increases brain levels of the feel-good chemical dopamine"" and usually makes a user hyperactive, impulsive and talkative). The book's final section gives detailed instructions on how parents can intervene and walk their children through the rehabilitation process, including relapses.