Authors of This is So Awkward Visit
Kent School’s 2024 Kudner Leyon Visiting Writers are Cara Natterson, MD and Vanessa Kroll Bennett. Natterson and Bennett are the authors of This is so Awkward: Modern Puberty Explained. The bestselling book is described as “Eye-opening and reassuring, This Is So Awkward will help adults understand the turbulent pubescent decade and become confident guides for today’s kids.” The author/experts visited Kent School on Tuesday, October 15 for a student workshop during the academic day. Later that afternoon Natterson and Bennett led a parent meeting at Kent Cultural Alliance in Chestertown.
The publisher’s website goes on to say, “Almost everything about puberty has changed since today’s adults went through it. It starts, on average, two years earlier and stretches through high school . . . and for some, beyond. Gens Z and Alpha are also contending with a whole host of thorny issues that parents didn’t experience in their own youth but nonetheless need to understand: everything from social media and easy-access pornography to gender identities and new or newly-potent drugs. Talking about any of this is like puberty itself: Awkward! But it’s also critical for the health, happiness, and safety of today’s kids.”
Dr. Cara Natterson, is a pediatrician and the author of the bestselling The Care and Keeping of You series, Guy Stuff and Decoding Boys. She is a graduate of Harvard College and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and is the founder of Order of Magnitude, a company dedicated to flipping puberty positive.
Vanessa Kroll Bennett is the founder of Dynamo Girl, a company focused on building kids’ self-esteem through sports, puberty education and parent workshops. She co-hosts The Puberty Podcast with Dr. Cara Natterson and writes the Uncertain Parenting Newsletter about the messy process of raising tweens and teens,
Previous Kent School Kudner Leyon Visiting Writer Lisa Damour, PhD author of Untangled, Under Pressure and The Emotional Lives of Teenagers said, “How are loving adults supposed to guide tweens and teens when everything - even puberty- has changed since their own Adolescence? Cara Natterson and Venessa Bennett have the answer! This is So Awkward is an accessible, enjoyable and detailed road map for addressing even the most delicate topics with confidence and compassion.”
Nancy Mugele, Head of Kent School said, “With gratitude to the support from our Kudner Leyon Memorial Endowment, it was an honor to welcome Cara and Vanessa to Kent School. Their book is so relatable and I am confident that their presentation to our students was equally so. I am truly proud that Kent School can bring a program of this caliber of excellence to our community and to the greater community of Chestertown. For more information contact Kent School at 410-778-4100 ext. 110 or email info@kentschool.org
Kent School prepares students for active citizenship through joyful and rigorous academics, arts, and athletics in an inclusive community that fosters moral excellence. Kent School draws strength from the dimensions of difference among our students, employees, Alumni, Trustees, families, and the world beyond our campus. Our School culture, built on trust, is one in which all individuals are seen, known, and valued. This culture depends on our ability to constantly learn, grow and improve as a community. We actively cultivate inclusivity, empowering individuals to thrive, contribute, and be respected for their unique abilities, perspectives, and cultural experiences.
