'The bottom line: Your life's outcome is solely up to you. If you can get out of bed in the morning, got to the bathroom, get dressed and nuke something in the microwave without any help, then you are capable of doing, achieving and handling just about anything that life can throw at you. You can do this. You can live up to your potential. And at your age, frankly, I expect you do.' Straight-talking, unpatronising, inspirational advice from bestselling author Dave Pelzer. Before he became a teenager, Pelzer was subjected to horrific physical and mental abuse from his mother. At the age of 12 he was rescued by his teachers and placed into foster care. During his teens the long road to recovery began and today Pelzer, now a father of a teenage son himself, spends much of his working life talking to young adults in schools and foster care centres. Pelzer's message is simple and powerful: identify problems, face them, think about where you want to be in life and never, ever give up on yourself. Weaving memories of his own life as a teenager with experiences of celebrities like Tom Cruise and young men and women Pelzer has worked with in schools, his tone is frank and extremely engaging. It is also a very practical book, provoking thought and inspiring action. Being a teenager isn't easy in today's world, but as Pelzer says, it brings with it massive opportunities - and it's much more exciting than being an adult.