Summary: “Raising Worry-Free Girls” is an excellent guide to tackle your child’s worry before it can transform into anxiety. If it already has, do not worry, Sissy has tools for you too. Finally, if you are just a concerned parent and want to be prepared, this book can teach you about your own anxiety in the process. Sissy tackles the problem of worry in three sections (heavy paraphrasing): - Understanding: teaching you about the difference between fears, worry and anxiety; tackling the variety of issues girls face which contributes to the development of anxiety disorders, as well as the general pressure they are under. - Help: going through practical tools like breathing techniques and grounding to help her on three levels, Body, Mind and Heart. - Hope: Tying anxiety with John 16:33 and showing us how faith is the cornerstone to beating worry. What I liked: This book does a fantastic job of illustrating how girls think, and how they experience anxiety. As a dad, this is important for me, because I cannot know exactly what it is like to be a girl, but this helps me relate as much as possible. For example, here are some highlights from the “Key Points to Remember” sections across different chapters: - “Girls tend to blame themselves for things. Because of this and their desire for relationship, girls, in particular, struggle with voicing their worries out loud.” (31) - “Your daughter worries because she cares. Things matter to her, which can make life hard. It’s hard for her to know how to turn that care off.” (59) - “Girls are more likely to have anxiety but are brought in less for treatment because their anxiety is missed or misinterpreted.” (59) - “Girls struggle at times with the milestone of perspective, needing big words to describe big emotions” (76) Mentioning the “Key Points to Remember” section at the end of each chapter, what a great idea! Love, love, love it! I can easily go back and skim these sections to read the summaries of the concepts covered. This is great for trying to find a particular idea, without having to find the exact page it was on. Things I did not like: I did feel like this book can be disorganized at times. While reading, I occasionally felt the stories and information in some sections, could fit better in other sections. Issues Regarding OCD: The example of anxiety on page 17 is an obsessive, intrusive thought to turn the wheel of the car and drive off a bridge. Obsessive, intrusive thinking is discussed multiple times in the book, but not properly labeled until page 137. Concerningly, on page 96, compulsive behavior (the behavior used to ‘try’ to reduce anxiety from obsessions) is suggested as a relaxation technique. Sissy suggests girls to “run water over her hands” in the bathroom. This can result in compulsive handwashing.