Wide Awake:
A Buddhist Guide for Teens
By Diana Winston

"Wide Awake: A Buddhist Guide for Teens" is one of the few books of its kind that teens like myself can relate to. I was a bit skeptical at first, due to the use of the word "guide" in the title – I feared that such a book would dictate to me how I should behave and respond.

However, the book doesn’t tell the reader how to act, think, or feel – rather than a guide, it is a tool that can aid teenagers in living more consciously and happily. Instead of creating a constricting rubric by presenting the one and only way to self realization, Diana Winston skillfully offers an array of suggestions, not only based on her own experiences, but also the experiences of others.

The book introduces the most fundamental as well as more complex aspects of Buddhist theory. Each chapter is self-contained; delightfully, you can choose to read any chapter within the book despite it being at the beginning or the end, and not lose any comprehension. The language is simple yet articulate; theories of the Buddha, such as the causes of suffering and the path by which to end it, are broken down and explained well.

Overall it is a great read – treating the reader neither as a child, nor as an adult, but simply as a person wanting to know the answers to the questions in his/her life. Wide Awake: A Buddhist Guide for Teens cleverly uses the teachings of the Buddha on achieving peace and happiness to shed light on many of the important questions all of us hold inside.

 -- Reviewed by Caitlin Kennedy (IMS Teen Retreat participant)