“He hit me… hard.”

“He did what!?” my mom exclaimed, as her eyes skimmed the page.

In my head I wanted to run away. The book had gotten very hot.

And very awkward.

My mother turned to me and asked me how I felt about the chapter. She wanted to talk about the portrayal of sex and what that meant.

Now I know, everyone has been through awkward moments with their parents.
Maybe they pulled out the baby pictures on your first date, or decided to have the “birds and the bees” talk, but I’m pretty sure mine takes the cake.

I read a very risqué novel with my mother, Fifty Shades of Grey.
Yes, that one.

The Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy became a phenomenon when it was written in 2011. It’s even bigger since the movie came out on Valentine’s Day.

It set new records for the highest-grossing opener of this month, already making more than $400 million worldwide.

It also had the biggest opening weekend ever for February, and is ranked among the biggest R-Rated debuts recently.

I decided to read the book when I was 15 because I saw it on a best seller list at Barnes and Noble.
I asked my mom to buy it for me, and she told me that she wanted to read it also.
At this point I had no clue what the book was about.

My mother bought our copies of the books and that began our Grey journey.
My mom and I would both read the same chapter and designate certain times to read. It would usually be in the evening before bed.

As time went on and we got deeper into the book, my mom and I would discuss it.
I was comfortable discussing different parts of the book with her.
We would talk about the sexual nature of the book and how I felt about it.

This brings to light different relationships with our parents.

I was lucky enough to have that very open relationship with my mom because it gave us trust.
Some teens may feel like they can’t talk to their parents because they won’t understand.

If you find yourself thinking that “no one understands” and believing that your experience is unique to you, then stop.

The truth is that our parents were teenagers before, and can relate to us more than we think.
You can gain a lot of wisdom from your parents if you take the time to actually talk to them.

Don’t shut them out because they were like you once.
Maybe you won’t be able to read Fifty Shades with them, but hey, that’s a start!