Imprint: Doubleday
Published: 22/03/2018
ISBN: 9780857523709
Length: 256 Pages
Dimensions: 240mm x 26mm x 162mm
Weight: 461g
RRP: £20.00
WINNER of the 2018 Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize 2018
'Finally, a book about the adolescent brain written by someone who actually does the science! Highly readable, ground-breaking' Professor Laurence Steinberg
Why does an easy child become a challenging teenager?
Why do teenagers struggle to get up in the morning?
Why do they often take excessive risks?
We often joke that teenagers don’t have brains. For some reason, it’s socially acceptable to mock people in this stage of their lives. The need for intense friendships, the excessive risk taking and the development of many mental illnesses – depression, addiction, schizophrenia – begin during these formative years, so what makes the adolescent brain different?
Drawing upon her cutting-edge research in her London laboratory, award-winning neuroscientist, Sarah-Jayne Blakemore explains what happens inside the adolescent brain, what her team’s experiments have revealed about our behaviour, and how we relate to each other and our environment as we go through this period of our lives. She shows that while adolescence is a period of vulnerability, it is also a time of enormous creativity – one that should be acknowledged, nurtured and celebrated.
Our adolescence provides a lens through which we can see ourselves anew. It is fundamental to how we invent ourselves.
'Beautifully written with clarity, expertise and honesty about the most important subject for all of us. I couldn’t put it down' Robert Winston
Imprint: Doubleday
Published: 22/03/2018
ISBN: 9780857523709
Length: 256 Pages
Dimensions: 240mm x 26mm x 162mm
Weight: 461g
RRP: £20.00
"Absolutely fascinating"
"An engaging and interesting book, written comprehensibly for a non-specialist audience. You will understand your children and your former selves better for reading it and you will bust a few myths as you go."
"There are few people more qualified to explain [adolescence] than the author of this compelling book. What I enjoyed most about this book was the readability and personal style of the narrative. Blakemore manages to present a highly accessible account of the science, without ever compromising on detail or depth…there is almost a sense that the reader is in the lab, listening in on the discussions and taking part in the decisions….This book has something to offer everyone … Blakemore provides a unique and very up-to-date insight into the changes that occur during this intriguing period."
"
Inventing Ourselves is an accessible introduction both
to neuroscience and experimental psychology, covering
basic research techniques while providing an overview of
recent studies of adolescence that will be of interest even
to someone familiar with these fields. This balance is in
large part due to the author’s ability to explain nuanced
experiments with an infectious enthusiasm that engages
the reader’s curiosity. Blakemore approaches the topic with
a sympathy and respect for the adolescents she works with
that is genuinely admirable. For anyone looking back on
their teenage years, trying to raise a teenager, or working
with adolescents, this book can help foster understanding
about why adolescents act the way they do and how we
become our adult selves.
"A brainy guide to the science behind teenagers' behaviour ... Inventing Ourselves is a timely book. Blakemore points out that we sometimes put too much trust in scientific studies, which, after all, produce findings not facts, and suggests that whatever we read about neuroscience “should be swallowed with a substantial swig of scepticism”. Sarah-Jayne Blakemore nails some neuro-myths and calls out the snake-oil salesmen, but warns against throwing the neuroscience baby out with the “brain baloney” bathwater."