Buddha in Your Backpack is the book I needed as a teenager. Since it didn’t exist, I had to write it—after a few decades of acquiring a bit of wisdom. The book begins with my introduction to the Buddha and to Buddhism. It’s the best primer on Buddhism I’ve written, and I recommend it to adults as well as the chronologically-challenged. It then goes through all sorts of nitty-gritty stuff teens have to deal with, and applies Buddhist wisdom and simple practices to make them more tolerable—even pleasurable. We can all use this book: as I love to say, once a teen, always a teen.

And now, for your pleasure, FREE EXCERPTS (Whoo-hoo! Don’t tell my publishers!),

1. First, the whole Introduction. This tells you why you're already a spiritual person and how Buddhism can help you realize this and explore it.
   

2. Then some words on drugs, because I tell a story on myself.
   

3. Finally, a couple of practical exercises you can do (for your mind).