Underestimated: The Wisdom and Power of Teenage Girls

“If you have a teenage girl in your life, you need to read this.” —Oprah Daily

In this “must-read for anyone who has a daughter, is a daughter, or knows a daughter” (Becky Lynch, WWE champion), this empowering guide—in the vein of Reviving Ophelia and Untangled—helps us better understand teenage girls, revealing how their insights can create heartfelt connections and impactful change.

Written with warmth and humor, Underestimated is the first book to invite us into the teenage girl’s brain and heart, as told from the point of view of a beloved and trusted mentor. Chelsey Goodan was a highly sought-after academic tutor who worked with hundreds of girls from all different backgrounds, earning their trust, confidence, and friendship. They in turn shared with her their innermost concerns, doubts, and what they wish they could communicate to their parents and the world at large.

With “practical wisdom that belongs in the toolbox of every teenager” (Booklist) and featuring topics and language directly chosen by the girls, Goodan reveals how the solutions to a girl’s well-being lie within her. She offers parents the exact words they can use to help her discover these solutions and demonstrates how adults can better support a teenage girl’s voice to create positive change.

Covering a variety of topics, including sexuality, perfection, friendship, identity, the media, shame, power, and much more, Goodan invites us to self-reflect. She reveals how to heal your own inner teenage girl, in order to bring greater connection into your life.

Rather than dismissing teenage girls based on our own fears or treating them as problems that need to be solved, Goodan encourages us as parents, and as a society, to help girls unleash their power and celebrate their intrinsic wisdom, creating more healing and connection for everyone. “This book is exactly what we all need right now, for our families and for our future voices in the world” (Laura Dern).