Everything I Couldn't Tell My Mother

Everything I Couldn't Tell My Mother is a coming-of-age story for any woman who


has ever questioned her sexual maturity and readiness, stayed silent at a time when


she should have spoken up or accepted treatment that was less than what she


Aaliyah Panarese is the teenage daughter of successful, overprotective parents who


want the best for her but rarely consider her hopes and dreams. Under the matriarchal


rules of her abusive mother, Aaliyah is expected to, without question, follow in


her footsteps and attend law school after she graduates from high school. Frustrated


and too cowardly to express her dreams of becoming a writer, she escapes life's harsh


realities by journaling heartfelt letters to her mother inside a diary, hoping that one


day they will be the keys to rebuilding trust and


strengthening the emotional connection that is lacking between them.


In a desperate attempt to nd her voice, and feel accepted and loved, she befriends


Stacy, Tonja and Manny-the most rebellious girls at her school. Aaliyah follows the


crowd, breaks her parents' rules and is quickly thrown into a battlefield marked with


peer pressure, self-loathing, sexual discovery and broken friendships. Her journey


takes dramatic twists and turns while delivering a cautionary tale that is grounded in


the reality of what it is to be a teenager in today's instant-access generation.