Acknowledgments

Foreword by Ariel Gore

Introduction

PART 1: Are You Still With Me?

ON FINDING SUPPORT FROM FAMILIES, LOVED ONES, AND MENTORS

Mother Love

Jennifer Bottoms Bryant

Dealing With Dad: From Fear to Family

Mindy Diehl

A Journey to Self

Chris Vitale

Welcome to Motherhood

Donna Dahlquist

Revelation

Pat Beresford

Speak Out! What's best about becoming a mother at a relatively young age?

PART 2: Two Pink Lines

ON PREGNANCY, BIRTH, AND LEARNING TO MOTHER

Gift

Rebecca Angel

The Birth Planet

Mollie Elizabeth Wood

A Leap Faith

Karen Landrum

Mrs. Clean

Erica Wells

My Amazing Breasts

Rosie Allain

Speak Out! What quality in you has contributed most to your success as a mother?

PART 3: Growing Up Together

ON SEXUALITY, RESPONSIBILITY, AND PARENTING

Bewildered but Blessed

Samantha Lucas

Suiting Up to Fly

Trina Willard

The Great Pretenders

K.J. Steele

I Was a Teen Mom Success Story

Allison Crews

The Power of No

Alice Campbell

Speak Out! What's the most important lesson you've learned since becoming a mother?

PART 4: Growing Belly, Shrinking Brain?

ON DROPPING OUT, GETTING BACK IN, AND FINISHING AN EDUCATION-IN SPITE OF THE STATISTICS

How to Get to Law School

Jackie Lanni

My Independent Study Abroad

Judy Moses

What Matters

Katie Huber

Stages

Clea Roddick

Speak Out! If you ran a middle school, high school, college, or university attended by pregnant and parenting teenagers, what free services would you offer?

PART 5: Encounters That Empower

ON BEING CHALLENGED AND STANDING FIRM

Waiting Room Lesson

Elizabeth Strater

Mom in Boots

Lennon Sundance

#9 Bus

Caitlin Crane

Alumni Day

Julie Cushing

Speak out! If your life were a TV sitcom, what would the show be called?

PART 6: Toilet Paper or Milk?

ON WORK, MONEY, AND FINDING A CAREER

The Letter

Jennifer Lind

Nav Maria

Shannon Minydzak

Birth of a Midwife

Katherine Robins

Cows, Colleges, and Casting

Jenne Herbst

Speak Out! What's the single biggest issue, obstacle, or challenge teen parents face today?

PART 7: Emerging From Darkness

ON HEALING FROM ABUSE AND ADDICTION, AND LEARNING TO LOVE AGAIN

Turning On the Lights

Stephanie Sylverne

Growing Up Too Fast

Latisha Boyd

Grace and Mama in the World

Sarah Tavis

The Fix

Kelly S. Busch

From Hopelessness to Inspiration

Rita Naranjo

Speak Out! What kind of animal best describes you as a mother?

PART 8: Mama Power

ON FIGHTING FOR OUR RIGHTS, KNOCKING DOWN STEREOTYPES, AND CHANGING LIVES

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Education

Katherine Arnoldi

Things Aren't What They Seem to Be

Jessica Allan Lavarnway

Scaling the Ivory Tower With a Baby on My Back

Speak Out! If you could wave a magic wand and improve the lives of young mothers, what would you do?

Index