Chesterfield Writer Knows the 'Secrets Girls Keep'

This week, Patch introduces you to Carrie Silver-Stock, author of “Secrets Girls Keep,” a book that discusses what secrets girls hide, why they hide them, and how to break the stress of silence. 

For more than 15 years, Carrie Silver-Stock has championed teen issues as a social worker, radio talk show host, speaker and author. 

Silver-Stock received her master's degree in social work from Washington University, and a bachelor's in sociology and world perspectives from Principia College in Elsah, IL. She is also a licensed clinical social worker.

She founded Girls With Dreams to bring teens together to share their concerns and dreams, help each other make the right decisions, and live positive lives. Girls can blog on the Girls With Dreams Social Network website about anything that interests or concerns them. 

Silver-Stock's first book, Powder Box Secrets, received the Benjamin Franklin Award, which recognizes excellence in independent publishing.

She wrote Secrets Girls Keep in response to a common problem she was seeing in her work with teen girls. “I noticed girls continue to struggle, and I wanted to help them,” Silver-Stock said. “Girls need to be able to share their stories and secrets. My book shares stories from other girls, so girls can identify with it.”

Online interactions, the need to fit in, how much they are eating and what's happening in their relationships are just some of the secrets girls keep, Silver-Stock said.

“Girls are not treated well in relationships,” she said. “That's an area a lot of girls don't talk about.”

Silver-Stock recommends that teen girls have a mentor, such as a favorite aunt, a cousin or a teacher, who can act as a buffer between parents and the teen. It's also important that the teen pick friends who will help her make the right choices, Silver-Stock said.

She said another big issue facing teen girls is the effects of a constant barrage of images of women with unachievable body types who have been highly sexualized.

“The sexualized content that shows up on the Internet and TV is terrible for educators, parents and girls,” Silver-Stock said. “Parents should not allow their children to watch some shows. Girls are all shapes and sizes with different fashion styles, and they don't have to get caught up in the imagery that they're being bombarded with.”

Silver-Stock has chosen to write about girls though she has two sons and no daughters.

“Ironically, I have two boys and they need the same support,” Silver-Stock said. “I haven't figured them out, but I hope somebody does.”

Each notable neighbor is asked a series of unrelated questions to offer us some insight into what makes them who they are.

What movie have you seen most recently? Inception
What type of shoes do you wear most often? Tennis shoes
Is your life a Fox Trot? Tango? Twist? Hip Hop? Waltz? Twist
What's your favorite food? Pizza
If you were shipwrecked on a desert island, what single thing would you most want with you? My family
What time did you go to bed last night? 11:30
If you could have a conversation with anyone in the world, living or dead, who would it be? Wow. I think Oprah.
What is your favorite TV show? Brothers and Sisters.
What did you have for breakfast this morning? Cereal
Would you say you are handsome? pretty? cute? hunka-hunka burnin' love? Pretty
If you were a superhero, which one would you be? Wonder Woman.
Are you Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck? Bugs Bunny.
Would you describe yourself as quiet, outgoing, gregarious, pleasant, or grouchy? Outgoing
Wool, cotton or silk? Cotton
What's your favorite book? The Power of Now
Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter? Harry Potter
Who is your favorite poet? Henry David Thoreau
What is your favorite kitchen utensil, tool or machine? My mixer

Each person Patch interviews for this column is asked to say a word, which then becomes part of a continuous thread. We'll attempt to make sentences, or possibly a poem, with these.

Say any word that pops into your head. Energetic

The thread so far:
Surprise soccer Indian purple love hard going sunshine frolic why helicopter solution happy glitter cars why energetic.