Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Letter to Teen Readers xi
Part I Building Self-Resiliency Skills With Mindfulness and Breath
Activity 1 Deciding to Keep This Book Private Or Share It 2
Activity 2 Present-Moment Awareness 5
Activity 3 Facing Fears and Accepting Your Truth 10
Activity 4 Families With Different Races, Religions, Cultures, and Sexual Preferences 15
Activity 5 Guided Imagery Helps Stress 20
Activity 6 Somatic Awareness 24
Activity 7 Use Your Senses to Know Your Intuition 28
Activity 8 Your Safety Container 33
Part II Understanding Your Brain, Body Emotions, and Past Trauma
Activity 9 Managing Your Triggers and Intense Emotions 38
Activity 10 Healing Your Inner Child 42
Activity 11 Checking In With Your Body When Taking Risks 47
Activity 12 Your Stress, Your Body 53
Activity 13 Vulnerability and Strength at Your Center 57
Part III Finding and Exploring Who You Are
Activity 14 Who Is In Your Tribe? 62
Activity 15 Celebrate Your Uniqueness, Strengths, and Challenges 67
Activity 16 Healing Wounds With Creative Expression 72
Activity 17 The Roots of Your Identity 76
Activity 18 Know Yourself 79
Activity 19 Transracial or Interracial Adoption 84
Activity 20 Expressing Yourself Safely With Your Family 92
Activity 21 Restorative Yoga 97
Part IV Skills For Moving Through The Hurt
Activity 22 Forgiveness and Gratitude For The Gift of Life 102
Activity 23 Understanding Loss and Grief 108
Activity 24 Healing From Toxic Shame 114
Activity 25 Getting Over Abandonment 118
Part V Healing Early Memories
Activity 26 The First Time You Learned That You Were Adopted 124
Activity 27 Saying "I'm Adopted" Out Loud 128
Activity 28 Adverse Childhood Experiences 132
Activity 29 Recovering Early Memories 136
Activity 30 Loving Yourself and Asking, "Was I Loved?" 141
Part VI Strategies for Moving Forward
Activity 31 What Is Your Story? 148
Activity 32 Do You Want to Search for Your Birth Parents? 151
Activity 33 Empathizing With Your Parents 155
Activity 34 Expressing Gratitude 160
Resources 165