I Can Fix This

And Other Lies I Told Myself While Parenting My Struggling Child

By: Kristina Kuzmic, Shefali Tsabary Ph.D.

Narrated by: Kristina Kuzmic, Soneela Nankani, Luka Kuzmic

From the author of Hold On, But Don’t Hold Still, the emotionally charged and eye-opening account of a mother who navigates the cacophony of best practices and urgent advice from parenting authorities in search of a way to support her teen as he maps his own path to mental health.

When Kristina Kuzmič started to see signs that her otherwise sunny, resilient teenage son was struggling, she was sure a few simple fixes could right the ship. But over the following months, the issues her family faced became more nuanced, complicated, and pervasive than she could've predicted—and what began as a clear to do list spiraled into an emotionally fraught and seemingly endless push and pull between signs of progress and overwhelming fear.

Despite her best efforts, Kuzmič had internalized a set of obligations, ideas, and unrealistic standards from parenting culture and social media that left her unprepared to guide her child when he needed her most. Featuring an urgent and affirming foreword by renowned and New York Times bestselling clinician Dr. Shefali Tsabary—Kuzmič's new book debunks ten "parenting truths” that kept her in crisis, and delves into her insecurities and the mistakes she made to reveal invaluable lessons and transformative approaches that worked.

While her family stands on the other side now stronger than ever, Kuzmič's journey calls to parents who have felt the instinct to say “I can fix this” in situations where good intentions far exceed our abilities to enact change.

©2024 Kristina Kuzmic (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"By offering us an in-depth account of her most vulnerable and maddening moments as a mother of a child in anguish, Kristina Kuzmič gives us a story as close to an emotional road map as possible."—Dr. Shefali Tsabary, New York Times bestselling author of The Parenting Map

"This book is so honest, reminding us that we are not alone in our parenthood journey, and that what our mind tells us is not always true. It is the perfect example of how showing up day after day, week after week, year after year is all the true love that our child needs. It won't be easy, and it will be far from perfect, but it will be real. Kristina and this book could not set a better example."—Dr. Neela Sethi, general pediatrics and adolescent medicine, teen mental health advocate

"The heart-wrenching and ultimately hope-filled journey of parenting a beloved child struggling with mental health and substance abuse. As a clinician and a mom, I so appreciated Kuzmič's extreme candor, humility, and empathy tackling a topic that is all too often kept in the shadows, leaving parents to suffer in silence. I encourage every parent, but especially those with kids who are struggling, to read I Can Fix This. You will find solace, understanding, and perspective that will not only help your family survive, but hopefully thrive as a result."—Dr. Laura Berman, New York Times bestselling author of Real Sex for Real Women and Talking to Your Kids About Sex

speechless

You will never know how much this means to me in this moment in my life. I’m internally grateful thank you

This is a Must!

If you have struggled with raising a child who has struggled this is your book. Beautiful and heartfelt, simply one of the best things I have every read. Thank you Kristina!

Real.

The Kuzmićes' story is real. It is insightful. This book is helpful not only to parents of children with substance abuse challenges, but also neurodiversity and mental health struggles, and for high conflict homes.

How helpful this book relates across the bored for Mother's with a child child struggling!

I thought this book was going to parenting tips. I shortly felt like this was life nagivagtion tool and reassurance guide for a mother with a child struggling. Our circumstances are Extreme ADHD and ODD. It was good to hear someone else saying my almost exact in thoughts and struggles out loud! Thank you to Author for sharing your most intimate parts of your life. I don't feel as alone in this.

Fantastic - must read for parents with teens struggling

I couldn’t stop listening. Raw, authentic, healing, and a manual for parents with kids who struggle

Courage

Beautifully Done, thank you for sharing. A wonderful reminder of hope and that healing does not occur in a straight line

Wow. Just wow.

This book is captivating. I couldn’t stop listening. I admire the bravery and humility it took to write about such difficult, heart-wrenching experiences.

A Load of my shoulders

This book is honest, poignant and tremendously helpful. It isn’t a happy soapy story. It is real, brutal and very relatable.
I will listen to it over and over again. It has given me strength and extra depth of understanding mental health struggles from my child’s point of view.

Love story

I must agree that this is definitely a love story——an unconditional love story. I had to hold it together to keep from crying; Although, I must confess, I wasn’t very successful. This book hits too close to home. I honestly think all parents and/or caretakers need to read it.

A MUST READ FOR PARENTS

Thank you for writing this book, and sharing your most vulnerable and honest experiences with the world. We are going through the same thing with our 13 years old girl now, feeling so helpless as she just had a nervous breakdown from anxiety and depression. This book released the very next day after she went through one of her worst days. I bought it and listened to it immediately. I needed to find something or anything that could help me to bring her back to a better mental state. My daughter and I shared so many similar emotions and moments, just as the author and her son went through. It gives me hope that we are heading to the right direction. It reminds me, we are not alone in this journey. Even if your kids are not having mental health problems, this is still a must read book for parenting. It will open your eyes or remind you how young people think and feel, we can't always see things through the parents lens only. It definitely helps parents to have a refreshed view to understand our youth better, shifting how to approach, and guide them with new perspectives.