I’m Not Alone: A Teen’s Guide to Living With a Parent Who Has a Mental Illness or History of Trauma is an excellent companion to the adult guide, Loving Someone with a Mental Illness or History of Trauma by Sherman & Sherman (2025). What makes the teen’s guide special is that it offers research-informed tools and strategies to help youth understand and navigate the complexities of having a parent living with mental illness.
The authors skillfully present complex subjects by beginning with factual information. For instance, Part One explores the realities of mental illness and trauma using language accessible to teenagers. Instead of starting with myths and transitioning to facts—a typical approach in many self-help books I’ve encountered—they concentrate on the research regarding mental health issues, such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Bipolar Disorder. This approach sets the record straight from the start for young, impressionable readers.
The authors invite teens to share experiences with the parent facing mental illness through the written exercise, “Snapshot of Your Story.” This assessment encourages teens to outline their family structure, assess their stress levels and concerns regarding their parents, and share their hopes for the future.
The guide is easy to read. It features four themed parts divided into 17 chapters. Like the adult version, this book provides mental health resources to help teens improve their coping skills, including contacts for international and national youth support organizations, hotlines, and books about specific mental health conditions. I would like to see more emphasis on advocacy efforts that older teens and young adults can engage in to empower themselves to speak out against mental illness and potentially help reduce the stigma for other youth who may have a parent with mental illness.
One of my favorite features of this book is the informative and encouraging tone of the authors. I really value how the book addresses abuse and neglect as part of unhealthy parenting, which can often stem from inadequate mental health management, as explained in Chapter 15, “How to Cope with Crisis.” Understanding and dealing with this issue can be daunting for a young person on one’s own. It involves complex feelings related to their desire to love and support a parent struggling with mental illness or trauma, while also needing to safeguard themselves from potential physical and emotional harm. The authors effectively emphasize this challenge and offer practical strategies to empower teens to seek assistance from a trusted adult. Additionally, the authors provide further resources.
I’m Not Alone: A Teen’s Guide to Living With a Parent Who Has a Mental Illness or History of Trauma is a valuable resource for psychotherapists working with children and adolescents to help them understand mental illness and trauma from a parent’s perspective. It features realistic, teen-centered vignettes that engage younger individuals.
Although aimed at children as young as eight, the language is better suited for ages 13 to 21, depending on maturity. Social work practitioners could also use this guide in psycho-educational peer groups led by youth with lived experience. It would offer teens a supportive venue to receive peer support.
Reviewed by Shakima Tozay, MSW, LICSW, CCM, PMH-C, a Doctor of Social Work candidate at the University of Alabama School of Social Work with more than a decade of experience in various social work settings.