Girls developed eating disorders when our culture developed a standard of beauty that they couldn't obtain by being healthy. When unnatural thinness became attractive, girls did unnatural things to be thin.

Most parents of adolescent girls have the goal of keeping their daughters safe while they grow up and explore the world. The parents' job is to protect, the daughter's job is to explore.

Adolescence is a border between childhood and adulthood. Like all borders, it's teeming with energy and fraught with danger.

Prayer is vastly superior to worry. With worry, we are helpless; with prayer, we are interceding. When I hear sad news, I try to say a prayer for the victims. When I am troubled, I will say a prayer that asks for relief for myself and for all those who suffer as I do. When I am concerned about my relatives or friends I say a short prayer to myself - "May they be happy and free of suffering."

The fullness of life comes from an identity built on giving and on joy.

Adolescence is when girls experience social pressure to put aside their authentic selves and to display only a small portion of their gifts.

Real friends require honesty, openness, and even vulnerability. They also require attention and simple acts of kindness.