‘Chocolate, Strawberry, and Vanilla: A Teenager’s Guide to Choices’ – A review

Dr. Rijusmita Sarma

(The writer is a counselling psychologist. Can be reached at 8638716076

 Teenage or adolescence can be a turbulent time in a person’s life. Transformative changes happen in the body and mind of a person during adolescence. There are also concerns related to interpersonal relations, performance in school, how they view themselves, others, and the world, how they perceive and evaluate situations, and so on. Hence, being a teenager can be a roller-coaster ride for most people. It can be beautiful, challenging, exciting, and difficult at the same time.

One difficult aspect of the teenage years is making ‘choices’. It is a time when teenagers are expected to make choices about their academics and careers, personal goals, and relationships. And most definitely, these choices have their consequences. But with the brain still developing, making choices isn’t a cakewalk for teenagers. With changing times, we are bombarded with options at every step, which means’making choices’ has become an integral part of our lives. There are countless ways to guide teenagers to make effective choices. The book titled ‘Chocolate, Strawberry, and Vanilla: A Teenager’s Guide to Choices’ by Dr. Keerthi Pai and Shyamala Shanmugasundaram is a one-of-a-kind approach to helping teenagers navigate through the challenges of adolescence and also enjoy the process.

The book describes what choices are, the process of making choices, and the challenges associated with them. It explains different ways of dealing with the challenges. Although challenging, the book also describes how the liberty to make choices empowers us. Having a choice is described by the book as a’magical key’ that can lead to many possibilities, making us the captains of the journey of our lives. But with the liberty of making choices comes the responsibility of making healthy ones. The book focusses on various aspects of the teenage years and the choices associated with them.

It provides us with a lot of information about lifestyle choices, allowing us to make well-informed decisions. The authors also focus on the importance of time management and inculcating hobbies into our schedules. Academic stress and the various reactions to stress are discussed, along with effective ways to manage it. Peer pressure, bullying, and addiction are also discussed in detail, along with ways to deal with them, which can help a teenager make conscious choices leading to helpful consequences. The book also attempts to educate teenagers about puberty, which is an integral part of adolescence.

The book focusses on helpful ways that can be adopted to make fruitful (aligned with one’s aptitude and interest) career choices. It also sheds light on how crucial relationship choices are and the valuable ways we can consider building new relationships and nurturing existing ones. It also emphasises the relationship with oneself and the importance of discovering and developing one’s potential and choosing one’s purpose in life.

Emotions also hold a special place in the book. Effective ways of developing emotional intelligence are discussed. It focusses on understanding emotions and explains different strategies for regulating them. The strategies for regulating emotions are interestingly referred to by the authors as a ‘masala box’. The book also describes helpful steps and ideas to keep in mind in the process of decision-making, as it is very closely connected to making choices. It also describes the types of choices and questions we need to ask ourselves when we make a particular choice. These questions can prove to be a game-changer.

The book also explains both verbal and non-verbal communication. Valuable ways to practice assertiveness are also described, along with the 7 Cs of communication.

The attribute that makes the book most interesting and impactful is that it is infused with examples and stories, which help convey the messages in a very effective way. To concretise the learnings and put them into practice, there are exercises like journaling, practising self-compassion, and mindfulness. 

Choices shape us and our future. Such influential ‘choices’ can be. But we humans aren’t sent with maps to navigate through our lives, which can make’making choices’ challenging. But as described by the authors, the ability and liberty to make choices can be equally interesting and empowering. And for making choices, if we have guidance that can help us make healthy and effective ones, isn’t that wonderful? I express my gratitude to the authors for writing this wonderful book, which can be a lighthouse for every teenager. 

You can avail of the book through the given link:

https://www.amazon.in/dp/8197017557?ref=myi_title_dp