Adolescent Mom's Innards: To Fellow Moms Navigating This Tricky Time

Author Na Min-ae · Publisher Seogyo Books · Published 2026-04-20 · ISBN 9791124497029

Book Introduction

The #1 most buzz-worthy professor at Seoul National University, the #1 literature teacher mothers want to meet, Na Min-ae, the star of Seoul National University's most popular and highest-rated lecture?! But here, I'm just a 'mom' who lives by forcefully suppressing the urge to smash my adolescent child's door. It comes whether you wait for it or not. It comes slowly, and it comes quickly. It comes whether you're prepared or not. Adolescence, it comes as if it has every right to. _From the main text Let me use some crude language. When a child is at the peak of adolescence, their mothers experience an identity crisis, wondering, 'Am I the crazy one, or is the crazy one me?' Once, I was the most affectionate mother, the child's universe and first love. How could I have changed so much... that I'm now silently asking myself 'Why did I even give birth to a child like that?' hundreds, thousands of times a day! Sometimes, I hate myself for how ugly I feel. Adolescence is not just for the child. Parents also navigate that unknowable and frightening period together. While a child might have friends to wander with, adolescent parents, even when their insides are rotting, have nowhere to comfortably vent. That's why it's unspeakably lonely. Na Min-ae, fighting with her child, is completely different from 'Professor Na Min-ae' or 'Professional Na Min-ae,' making it confusing even for me to accept and understand. Should I just come out and say, 'This angry and ferocious person is indeed Na Min-ae, the poet's daughter, who appears on YouTube'? After calming down, I can't bear how much I despise myself for having lashed out because of my child. 'I'm so lonely and at a loss.' Thinking this, I wonder if my child also feels lonely and at a loss, which is why they play games, or talk to internet friends. Sometimes I understand, sometimes I resent, and I don't even know my own heart. Sturm und Drang. That's not just the story of a child going through adolescence, but also of a mother raising an adolescent child. _From the main text There are many experts on adolescent children, but why are there no experts who look into the hearts of adolescent parents? This is my first time being a parent, and it's so incredibly scary and difficult, but why does no one acknowledge the feeling of struggling alone, fearing criticism for not being "parent-like"? Professor Na Min-ae, the author of the new book , says that the hearts of adolescent parents need even more care than the children themselves. In this book, she empathizes with and comforts the parents going through the same period, confirming that all these emotions stem from 'love for the child.' She tells us that even though it's scary, we're doing well, and we couldn't do any better. But since it's frightening to be alone, she encourages us to hold hands and manage these intense emotions together. Through this book, the author sheds the existing image of an 'elegant and intelligent' Seoul National University professor, openly and candidly sharing episodes with her unruly adolescent children. Her spirited writing offers a refreshing release for all frustrated parents in Korea. In the realistic scenes where profanity and shouting are rampant, where she runs out of the house in exasperation, or swallows tears hurt by her child's harsh words while still making their favorite side dishes, readers will feel a deep sense of 'I'm not alone in this,' connecting with each other as if their hearts are understood. Meanwhile, in the scenes where, after a chaotic day, she calms down at night and redefines her relationships with her husband, father, and mother, vowing to become a more mature adult, readers can feel the author's unique sensibility that they love. Revealing raw emotions, yet finding answers in literature, recalling the days when she passionately loved her child to quell her anger, and restoring family love, these moments bring tears to the eyes of the reader. Many parents are shocked and at a loss by the even tougher adolescence of children in the 2010s. For adolescent parents who are wandering with their children, unsure how to navigate those few years, which have a greater amplitude than in the past and whose full impact is unknown, this book is recommended. It offers refreshing empathy that clears a stuffy chest, a poignant reminder of the beginning with one's child, the realization gained by reflecting 'I, too, was once an unruly child,' and a contemplation of Korean society which has given birth to the neologism 'Middle School 2 Syndrome' by placing excessive expectations and roles on teenagers. This book, containing all of this, will be a greater comfort than any counseling or professional writing.

Table of Contents

Introduction / Welcome to the Adolescent Moms Club Act 1 When Does Adolescence Come? The Hardest Task Even for the Buddha Adolescent Moms Need Many Things Looking Through a Demian-like Filter Door Phobia Developed 1 Door Phobia Developed 2 Mom Fears Vacations The Day I Escaped the Postpartum Care Center You Are a Precious Invited Guest Mom Was Scared Too The Child Who Really Ran Away When Told To The Story of My Conversion Thanks to My Adolescent Child Please Look at Me, Mom Mom Can Also Run Away My Mother Is No Help Your Heart, My Heart, So Mysterious How Could You Do This to Me? It Is Absolutely Not Mom's Fault To the Child Despairing After an Exam Act 2 Adolescent Moms Also Live in This World Don't Go Too Far, My Love When You Feel Like You're Losing It, Night Walks of Rage If Your Heart Feels Like It's Bursting, Power Walking of Madness Listen Up, Everyone, My Child's Chestnut Is a Big Chestnut There's a Tree in Our Apartment Grown from My Tears Getting Up with the Help of Sister Park Wan-seo Good Mom, Bad Mom, Strange Mom 先天性(Congenital) Mom and 后天性(Acquired) Mom My Health Is More of a Problem Than My Children If Raising Children Is Difficult, Raise Plants Overcoming Adolescence's Aftermath – Shopping Edition I Love Stocks Dogs Don't Just Bark, Cats Don't Just Meow My Life Was Thinking of You The One Who Loves More Is More Vulnerable A Support Group for Adolescent Moms Is Necessary Husbands Are Surprisingly Helpful Does Adolescence Not Come if You Go to International School? Act 3 Become an Expert in Unrequited Love Before and After Meeting You, the Whole World Is My Baby, You Were Ultimately My Joy The Saying That the Mental Umbilical Cord Stirs Weep, Pray, and Love The One Person Who Will Embrace My Hateful Self Yes, I'm the Fool I've Never Seen a More Beautiful Flower Than You My Parents' Clock Is Fast Approaching Sunset To Live Is to Learn How to Love A World Where You're Not Scolded Just for Loving Will We Be Happy People to Have Been Born? Appendix / Content That Will Make Adolescent Moms Forget Their Anger