Jess Lahey

Recommended books on parenting teenagers includes The Sleep-Deprived Teen, Bright Kids Who Couldn't Care Less, The Self-Driven Child, Neurodiversity and College, The Gift of Failure, Seven Steps to College Success: A Pathway for Students with Disabilities, and Neurodiversity & College: A Parent's Guide for Autistic Students.

Seniors' college applications are almost in.
 
Now's a great time to learn from @lllewis.bsky.social, @ellenbraaten.bsky.social, @jesslahey.bsky.social & others about preparing them for college.

See my rec' book lists on Amazon (https://bit.ly/ECHAmazon) & @bookshop.org (https://bit.ly/ECHBookshop)

A Long October ...and there's reason to believe / maybe this year will be better than the last*

October sucked ASS.

open.substack.com/pub/jesslahe...

Why Back-to-School Night Made Me Feel Like a Bad Mom Why aren't my kids playing sports or learning the cello? A case study in Pressured Parents Phenomenon.

An oldie but goodie (the kid in question is now a senior in college):

www.theatlantic.com/education/ar...

The Scammer's Guide to Writers Sorry, Colleen Hoover did not read your book. Here's how not to be a mark.

So many scams targeted at writers! I almost got got so here's a run-down of what to watch out for.

The Scammer's Guide to Writers
open.substack.com/pub/amwritin...

FREE virtual presentation on substance use prevention in kids! We will laugh, there will be no fear mongering, and I will share lots of ways in to conversations that don't make you feel oogy, hopelessly uncool, or preachy.

gpsparentseries.org/events/jessi...

I'm all Porter Robinson Cheerleader vibes today while making welcome videos for a couple of schools I'll be visiting this fall to talk Gift of Failure and Addiction Inoculation (but mostly a combo of the two).

The Importance of Transparency in College Preparation for Students with Disabilities - LD Advisory Well-meaning adults may prevent students with disabilities from developing the self- knowledge they'll need to self-advocate and self-manage at college. Learn how they do this and what they can do instead.

There's great wisdom I want you to hear from some people with experience. Read this post featuring  @jesslahey.bsky.social & others learn how adults do this and what they can do instead. https://bit.ly/LDblog154x

 #CollegePrep #ADHDParent #2e #Parents #twiceexceptional #ParentingTips #Dyslexia

Opinion | We Ran the C.D.C.: Kennedy Is Endangering Every American’s Health

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/o...

Writing Thrilling People & Places: Jess and Sarina talk with Tess Gerritsen Jess and Sarina talk with thriller author Tess Gerritsen about constructing fictional worlds and the people who live there

This week on the #AmWriting podcast, Sarina & I interview a new favorite author of ours, Tess Gerritsen! We talk about her process, switching genres, and finding a new series right there in her backyard in mid-coast Maine.

amwriting.substack.com/p/writing-th...

Someone asked about my most-recommended (work-related) books. Here they are, feel free to recommend others in the comments!

Why, yes! I'd LOVE to speak at your school! It's about time for me to head back out on the road and your town could be next.

Want to know more about bringing me in to your community to speak on Gift of Failure or Addiction Inoculation topics? This post is for you!

jesslahey.substack.com/p/why-yes-id...

Speaking — Jessica Lahey

I have the best job ever. I teach kids, parents, communities abt substance use, help parents & schools let kids fail & struggle & learn from it.

Most of all, help kids feel seen, heard, known & supported for who they ARE, not what we want them to be.

For more:

www.jessicalahey.com/speaking-2

Bob, Marcia, Cathy and Sam They paved the way here and will continue to point the way forward

I’m watching the work of my mentors - Dr. Bob Delong, Dr. Cathy Wilfert, Dr. Sam Katz, and N.C. State Rep Marcia Morey - undone by this administration and I hardly know what to do with this grief but write and fight.

open.substack.com/pub/jesslahe...

Summer reading on parenting teenagers includes The Sleep-Deprived Teen, Bright Kids Who Couldn't Care Less, The Self-Driven Child, Neurodiversity and College, The Gift of Failure, Seven Steps to College Success: A Pathway for Students with Disabilities, Never Enough, and The Naked Roommate: For Parents Only.

Looking for a beach read? 
 
Now is a great time to learn from @lllewis.bsky.social, @ellenbraaten.bsky.social, @jesslahey.bsky.social,  & others.

See my rec' book lists on Amazon (https://bit.ly/ECHAmazon) & @bookshop.org (https://bit.ly/ECHBookshop)

#ParentingBook #ParentingTeens #CollegePrep

Five things podcast guests need to know Media training 101 for podcast guesting

After years doing the #AmWriting podcast, & many more being interviewed on other people's podcasts, I've compiled the top five rules for being a good podcast guest plus a few crazy tech snafus that can happen (ask me how I know).

amwriting.substack.com/p/five-thing...

My niece checking in from the protests in ARKANSAS!

Let's all be the rain on this motherfucker's parade.

#NoKings #NoKingsDay

Authors Against Book Bans Our Mission Statement We are Authors Against Book Bans. We, a coalition of writers, illustrators, anthology editors and contributors, and other book creators, stand united against the deeply unconstit...

I'm in an Authors Against Book Bans town hall right now and overwhelmed with gratitude for all the hard work to protect the right to read. So much progress has been made and yet so much work is yet to be done!

www.authorsagainstbookbans.com

figure 2. shows poor get poorer and rich get richer, percent change. -4% for bottom 10%. +2.5% roughly for top 10%.

dollar change. shows poor get poorer and rich get richer.

NEW FROM CBO: brutal distributional analysis of House GOP "Big Beautiful Bill"

On avg the bottom 30% of households get poorer under the GOP bill

Avg gets little - and are worse off if you include tariffs

This'd be the largest transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich in a single law in history

I love talking about substance use prevention in kids through the lens of competence, self-efficacy, self-advocacy, and helping kids feel as if they deserve to take up space in the world just as they are. Thanks to Anna Donaghey and the Big Drink Rethink podcast.

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

It's a three-box day at SCOTUS, mean we're expecting up to 6 decisions today. Opinions coming at 10.

We feed you.
They hunt us.

Health secretary RFK Jr. abruptly fires CDC vaccine advisory panel Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has taken the extraordinary step of firing the expert panel that advises the CDC.

“Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has taken the extraordinary step of firing the expert panel that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, saying the action is needed to restore faith in vaccines.”

www.statnews.com/2025/06/09/r...

Today marks five years since George Floyd was killed by police. Our June 22, 2020 cover “Say Their Names,” by Kadir Nelson, illustrated how Floyd’s murder embodies the history of violence inflicted upon Black people in America. nyer.cm/UmfefJw

The Gift of Failure — Jessica Lahey

11/ As always, I recommend folks read ’s @jesslahey.bsky.social's  The Gift of Failure for more on the importance of letting students try to solve their own problems and (sometimes) fail:

Static Cling The charge that lingers long after a storm passes

We had violent, flooding rain and hail yesterday in Vermont and I was reminded of the way my (then) young children were drawn out of the electricity-less house into the post-storm glow and wild, wet possibilities.

open.substack.com/pub/jesslahe...

How to Focus on Work in a Chaotic World Regardless of your political leanings, it's a real challenge to focus on writing right now. Jess, Sarina, KJ and Jennie discuss.

While author interviews are fun, my favorite episodes of the #AmWriting podcast happen when KJ, Sarina, Jennie and I meet up. This week we discuss living in a chaotic world with a lot of noise and getting the words done when the words comes hard.

open.substack.com/pub/amwritin...

I get to keynote day 2 of the Vermont Substance Use Conference ON MY BIRTHDAY. Best present ever. Dr. Haner Hernández is speaking on day one and I will be there, front and center. Join us!

www.vtcpi.org/vsuc