GateHouse News Service
Waltham —
Amanda Daniel was 17 years old when the floor dropped out of her life.
She was awash in feelings learning that she was pregnant.
``I walked home from my appointment and it was the longest walk of my life,'' she said. ``I had a sick feeling of guilt and shame. ... I was mourning my childhood and felt ashamed of what I had become.''
Now 31, Daniel is a social worker and author of ``Transparent Tears,'' a new book she hopes will serve to educate both troubled teens and professionals who work with them.
Last night at the More Than Words bookstore on Moody Street, she shared her tale of growing up as inner-city teenager in Cambridge.
``My dad, he was a substance abuser and he committed suicide, so that had a pretty strong effect on me. I grew up an angry kid and insecure in many other ways,'' she said. ``After having my son, I hit postpartum depression and rock bottom. Rock bottom made me want to make a lot of changes.''
Those changes included her getting bachelor's and master's degrees as a single mother and eventually landing a position in the adolescent unit of the Department of Social Services in 2001.
``I wanted to help other adolescents in some way. There's not enough help for teens with issues,'' she said. ``I put my own knowledge, my own experiences and my own growth to helping kids with very similar experiences I went through.''
Daniel started writing her autobiography while completing her master's and just recently published the book, which is available online and in some local book stores.
``I felt like if I told my experiences, people could learn from that,'' she said. ``It's also for professionals to gain some insight about the struggles (teens) are facing.''
One chapter of the book deals with a youth from Waltham whom Daniel considers her ``success story'' after working with her through DSS.
``I have a client from Waltham. Her name is changed in the book. Some of my first experiences (as a social worker) were with one character, her name is Sari in the book, who had a really rough time when I met her,'' she said. ``At that point she wasn't ready to make changes. Eventually working with her, she and I trusted each other. We kind of bonded.''
Daniel said through her job, she deals with troubled youth in Waltham on a regular basis.
``I see a lot of the same problems here from when I was growing up as a youth in Cambridge. There's a lot of issues with drugs, issues involving peer pressure, self-esteem, teen pregnancy ... school dropouts are huge.''
Daniel was invited to speak at More Than Words by David Skirvin, 19, the events coordinator for the book store.
``I went to Lesley College where I heard her speak,'' he said. ``This is for us to get more publicity here so we can expand peoples' minds.''
More Than Words started as an online bookselling training program for youth in DSS custody in 2004. In the past year, More Than Words has established a storefront at 376 Moody St.
``We're a youth-run nonprofit to help youth in DSS and DYS mostly,'' said Manuel Sanchez, 16, of Watertown. ``The youth are the ones that employ other youth. Everything you see here was brought in by the youth and organized by the youth.''
Now More Than Words also helps youth who are in foster care or the court system, homeless, out of school, or who have mental health or substance abuse problems.
The youth continue to work as a team to manage the online and retail used book operation, and also host community events including a monthly open mic and children's story time.
For more information on More Than Words book store, visit online at www.morethanwordsbooks.com or call them at 781-788-0035.
For more information on Amanda Daniel visit her Web site at www.amandabdaniel.com or call her at 617-259-0454.
She was awash in feelings learning that she was pregnant.
``I walked home from my appointment and it was the longest walk of my life,'' she said. ``I had a sick feeling of guilt and shame. ... I was mourning my childhood and felt ashamed of what I had become.''
Now 31, Daniel is a social worker and author of ``Transparent Tears,'' a new book she hopes will serve to educate both troubled teens and professionals who work with them.
Last night at the More Than Words bookstore on Moody Street, she shared her tale of growing up as inner-city teenager in Cambridge.
``My dad, he was a substance abuser and he committed suicide, so that had a pretty strong effect on me. I grew up an angry kid and insecure in many other ways,'' she said. ``After having my son, I hit postpartum depression and rock bottom. Rock bottom made me want to make a lot of changes.''
Those changes included her getting bachelor's and master's degrees as a single mother and eventually landing a position in the adolescent unit of the Department of Social Services in 2001.
``I wanted to help other adolescents in some way. There's not enough help for teens with issues,'' she said. ``I put my own knowledge, my own experiences and my own growth to helping kids with very similar experiences I went through.''
Daniel started writing her autobiography while completing her master's and just recently published the book, which is available online and in some local book stores.
``I felt like if I told my experiences, people could learn from that,'' she said. ``It's also for professionals to gain some insight about the struggles (teens) are facing.''
One chapter of the book deals with a youth from Waltham whom Daniel considers her ``success story'' after working with her through DSS.
``I have a client from Waltham. Her name is changed in the book. Some of my first experiences (as a social worker) were with one character, her name is Sari in the book, who had a really rough time when I met her,'' she said. ``At that point she wasn't ready to make changes. Eventually working with her, she and I trusted each other. We kind of bonded.''
Daniel said through her job, she deals with troubled youth in Waltham on a regular basis.
``I see a lot of the same problems here from when I was growing up as a youth in Cambridge. There's a lot of issues with drugs, issues involving peer pressure, self-esteem, teen pregnancy ... school dropouts are huge.''
Daniel was invited to speak at More Than Words by David Skirvin, 19, the events coordinator for the book store.
``I went to Lesley College where I heard her speak,'' he said. ``This is for us to get more publicity here so we can expand peoples' minds.''
More Than Words started as an online bookselling training program for youth in DSS custody in 2004. In the past year, More Than Words has established a storefront at 376 Moody St.
``We're a youth-run nonprofit to help youth in DSS and DYS mostly,'' said Manuel Sanchez, 16, of Watertown. ``The youth are the ones that employ other youth. Everything you see here was brought in by the youth and organized by the youth.''
Now More Than Words also helps youth who are in foster care or the court system, homeless, out of school, or who have mental health or substance abuse problems.
The youth continue to work as a team to manage the online and retail used book operation, and also host community events including a monthly open mic and children's story time.
For more information on More Than Words book store, visit online at www.morethanwordsbooks.com or call them at 781-788-0035.
For more information on Amanda Daniel visit her Web site at www.amandabdaniel.com or call her at 617-259-0454.
