The father of two pre-adolescent girls, he has firsthand experience of the perils and pitfalls of dispensing advice that isn't always wanted. But he's smart enough to know that by revealing his own fallibilities, he can help them better understand themselves. He makes no bones about the missteps he has made and shows how he has learned through trial and error to cope with many of the issues that will one day confront his own daughters. He also talks about the things he has gotten right, sharing this priceless wisdom with parents and their children. Van Munching is a strong believer in making a preemptive strike — offering guidance before tense situations escalate into crisis mode. He suggests ways for handling adolescent boys and includes illuminating personal anecdotes about subjects ranging from sex to drugs, peer pressure to religion. Without ever talking down.

Van Munching shows how parents can help their daughters grow into compassionate, responsible, self-sufficient adults. There's plenty here to laugh about, identify with, and mull over. It's a loving, commonsensical approach to raising teenage girls that reveals that dads are people, too.

New things matter: Clothes. Parties. Boys. Suddenly being liked and being popular don't mean the same thing. Your parents get completely bizarre when the subject of dating comes up. A friend you've had forever stabs you in the back for no good reason. Everybody you know seems to feel free to comment on your constantly changing body. Drugs and alcohol go from being what you see "bad" kids doing on television shows to what you see your friends doing when no adults are around. How are you supposed to deal?

Since life doesn't come with a set of instructions, it helps to turn to people who have been through the stuff that you're facing. Even parents can help. (Really!) In Boys Will Put You on a Pedestal (so they can look up your skirt), former teenage boy — and current dad of two daughters — Philip Van Munching helps guide you through some of life's most confusing topics. From Beauty to Grief, from Sex to Fate, Van Munching covers the things you most want to know about and, in his wise, warm, and funny way, offers advice on how you can become the young woman you most want to be.