The Double Take Team

What is Double Take?

The books Dear Dr. Wes: Real Life Advice for Teens and Real Life Advice for Parents Teens, are based on the Double Take advice column that has run in the Lawrence Journal World since 2004. The authors are selected each April from a pool of area seniors and exceptional juniors. The applicants submit essays and letters of reference, and attend an interview. A panel of writers rates their work on style, quality and substance. The winner gets the chance to produce fifty columns a year handing out advice to their peers and parents, right out in the public eye, with no cute screen names to hide their identities. Several of the Double Take authors are contributors to this cite, offering advice and commentary on teenagers and parenting, several having even more insight on that process now that they’re through it.

The Books

The Dear Dr. Wes books are a collection of columns written since October 2004. On this blogsite we’ve included extended descriptions, additional samples that aren’t available on Amazon, and links to order the books.

Read More About Our Books

Double Take Facts

First Published October 2004
The topic was based on a letter submitted by a 16-year-old whose mother had found diet pills in her sock drawer.
Featured Weekly in The Lawrence Journal World
We do 50 columns a year, with one break between authors in August and on column in April devoted to the results of our annual contest.
Read Double Take Online
Double Take is read around the world.  We’ve received letters from many US states, Canada and the UK. The new columns are added to the archive each week. 
There Have Been 8 Co-authors, Aged 16 to 18.
Today, three have graduated college, four are attending, and Miranda will graduate high school in May. Who will be next? Read on…
The Last 6 Co-authors Won a Contest
Most of the Double Take Authors won a contest to write for the column. The last five received scholarships for their freshman year in college, as will the next Double Take co-author. The contest is in April. Details will be published in the paper and online.

Our Blogging Team

In the spirit of Double Take, we’re extending our reach on the Dear Dr. Wes Blog by assembling a group of young people from around the world to discuss what it means to be a teenager today. While the blog will be edited, but we’ll offer our bloggers a forum to respond frankly and intelligently to the same issues we address in the Dear Dr. Wes series, with up-to-the minute advice and commentary. Know someone who’d be good? Have them direct message me on twitter @wescrenshawphd and we’ll take a look at their work. And who are the people featured in the pictures below? Models. Let us know if you’d like to have your picture here.