Dial Up the Dream
Make Your Daughter's Journey to Adulthood the Best—For Both of You
Picking up where her national bestseller, Dial Down the Drama, left off, Colleen O’Grady’s Dial Up the Dream supports you in navigating your daughter’s last days at home and her transition to adulthood. This emerging-adult stage can be even more stressful on both mother and daughter than the teen years, because the stakes are higher and the changes to the relationship more profound.
This essential guidebook will validate what you are feeling and experiencing with your daughter right now as well as give you a road map for what’s coming. Dial Up the Dream will prepare moms for the three phases they will go through during the late teens and early twenties. The first goal is to preserve the relationship during senior year and not get preoccupied with the future, i.e. falling into the “college trap.” The second phase is when your daughter leaves home, whether it’s to live with roommates, travel, enter the workforce, try entrepreneurship, or go to college. As she gains her independence, you’re losing a job that’s defined you for nearly two decades. While she gets ceremonies and congratulations, there’s no accompanying ritual or even acknowledgment for the changes in your life. The third phase is letting go, which can trigger a “mom crisis.” O’Grady helps you get unstuck, make sense of your own story, reconnect with yourself and dial up your dream. The paradox is that when you dial up your own dream…you stay close to your daughter.
In this book, you’ll learn:
- Exactly what’s going on with your daughter emotionally and physiologically. And how to use this science-based knowledge to set realistic expectations
- How to think about and navigate the many complex feelings in this journey for both you and your daughter
- The most common emotional traps we moms get caught in during these years and how to avoid them altogether
- Why it’s imperative to change your parenting role from monitor to trusted consultant—and how to do that
- How to use this new phase in your daughter’s life to dial up your own dreams—and why doing so is imperative to your daughter’s development and to having a vibrant, meaningful, lifelong mother-daughter relationship
Reviews
“This wonderful book touches the heart of the mother-daughter relationship during the journey to adulthood. It captures—beautifully and practically—the difficult task of separating, letting go, and, at the same time, remaining close. Such a gift to the world.”
“Dial Up the Dream helps mothers understand how best to support their daughters as they move from adolescence to adulthood. Each chapter is full of relatable stories, practical advice, and exercises to help moms bring the best version of themselves to their mother-daughter relationship. Breathe slower and deeper as Colleen O’Grady walks you through the steps to parent your daughter from a place of love—not fear—and, in the process, develop a closer and more meaningful connection. As a mother of two young adult daughters, I found this book to be insightful, enlightening, and reassuring.”
“Dial Up the Dream is a road map for moms who want the best for their daughters as they move from teen to adult. These can be confusing times. Moms wonder what their role is and stress if their teen is making the right choice for college and for their future. Moms can fall into the trap of thinking they know what’s best for their daughter. This book is full of practical tools to empower mom to best support her daughter to dial up her dream while maintaining a healthy relationship with her. Mom can rest knowing her daughter can tap into her truth and find a college and career that is authentic to her.”
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“As mothers, we dream of being close with our grown daughters. We instinctively know that how we handle their teenage and young adult years sets the stage for this lifelong relationship—and whether we become a source of comfort or stress for them. In Dial Up the Dream, Colleen O’Grady offers a compassionate, empowering, and relevant guide to help moms of young adults become the friend, mentor, and cheerleader they need. This book offers powerful insight on how to help your daughter thrive after she leaves home and also step into the role of being her biggest fan. I highly recommend it.”
“This is a must-read for all parents on how to navigate the intense relationship that exists between mothers and daughters and how to tap into the potential of healthy and powerful connections that will last a lifetime. Colleen O’Grady has nailed what it takes to truly connect with your daughter during difficult times and how to triumph in the parenting relationship to ensure your daughter has a happy, independent life. As someone who works in college admissions, I recommend this book to ensure students and parents create and maintain healthy relationships during one of the more challenging parts of a teenager’s life, leaving home to go to college.”
“Colleen O’Grady is the best kind of author, teacher, and therapist. The kind who has not only mastered the research and science, but has also been in the trenches of parenthood—both in her own life and in decades of experience working with patients. In Dial Up the Dream, Colleen navigates the complexity and hardship of letting go of your freedom-obsessed daughter while expertly guiding you to rediscover your own life. A must-read for any mom who is ready to open her heart and rediscover her truth.”
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$21.95 CAD • $17.95 USD
Published May 3, 2022
Paperback, ebook, audiobook