Everything I Couldn't Tell My Mother is a coming-of-age story for any woman who
has ever questioned her sexual maturity and readiness, stayed silent at a time when
she should have spoken up or accepted treatment that was less than what she
Aaliyah Panarese is the teenage daughter of successful, overprotective parents who
want the best for her but rarely consider her hopes and dreams. Under the matriarchal
rules of her abusive mother, Aaliyah is expected to, without question, follow in
her footsteps and attend law school after she graduates from high school. Frustrated
and too cowardly to express her dreams of becoming a writer, she escapes life's harsh
realities by journaling heartfelt letters to her mother inside a diary, hoping that one
day they will be the keys to rebuilding trust and
strengthening the emotional connection that is lacking between them.
In a desperate attempt to nd her voice, and feel accepted and loved, she befriends
Stacy, Tonja and Manny--the most rebellious girls at her school. Aaliyah follows the
crowd, breaks her parents' rules and is quickly thrown into a battlefield marked with
peer pressure, self-loathing, sexual discovery and broken friendships. Her journey
takes dramatic twists and turns while delivering a cautionary tale that is grounded in
the reality of what it is to be a teenager in today's instant-access generation.