Maria Susan Proulx is wise beyond her years and is a published author at the age of 17, with her recent book, “Teen Talk: Insight on Issues That Matter To Teens & the Adults Who Care About Them.” (Teen Ink 2021).

While it is rare to have a book published while still in high school, it is not surprising that Maria did so. Maria, a Ledyard resident, began writing a column, “Teen Talk,” giving teens and adults advice for the Times papers owned by The Day when she was just 13.

Like her “Teen Talk” column, Maria’s book is a collection of essays and advice on a variety of topics that are of interest to both teens and the adults who care for them. She not only offers tips to teems but offers tips to adults on how to relate to their teens.

While Maria has always been interested in writing poetry or creative writing even as a young child, reading the local newspaper exposed her to nonfiction writing. Even as a child, Maria read the local paper, The Day, and recognized that there were topics that were controversial and for which people had different opinions.

A major influence on Maria trying to get her writing published was her fifth-grade teacher, Mrs. Miner, who encouraged her to try to publish her creative writing, so she started submitting her writings to local contests. Lee Howard, The Day’s community editor, was Maria’s primary influence for writing a teen advice column. Maria saw Howard’s piece in The Thames River Times asking for columnist contributions.

Maria first reached out to Howard at age 12. After persistently contacting him to convince him that she was not too young, Howard gave her the opportunity to write a monthly column at age 13.

Looking back, Maria recalls that the advice she first wrote about was noncontroversial. Topics such as healthy eating habits, homework, and sleep. Topics which were not really disputed.

As Maria matured, gained confidence in herself and was more exposed to the world around her, particularly, the different social marches, Black Lives Matter and other social movements, Maria felt more comfortable about writing about more controversial topics.

For example, she spoke to a friend who was transgender and learned about her experiences and felt it was important to write about that topic. “Teen Talk” also addressed controversial topics such as mental health, sex education, birth control, and abortion. Maria did research on the topics she selected by reading about the subject and talking to other teens and adults to gain their different perspectives on the topic. In order to be able to offer both teen and adult tips in her column, Maria sought the advice of her peers, family, parents, teachers, and mentors.

A critical skill Maria used in writing her column was listening to others and exposing herself to their opinions on real life topics.

Maria has now graduated from high school and handed off “Teen Talk” to a talented teen successor. Maria will be attending Dartmouth in the fall, majoring in government with a focus on International Relations and Global Security. Maria is interested in pursuing a career at the United Nations or NATO that involves international peacekeeping.

While Maria is not planning on writing an advice column while in college or pursuing a major in writing, Maria believes that writing will be an important tool she will use in her career to explain complicated world topics in a simple way so that everyone can understand the topic. Maria was even wise in her choice of college. Maria chose Dartmouth because she believes the nature surrounding Dartmouth, particularly the White Mountains, will help her balance the stress of college.

Hannah Simpson is a Mitchell College student and a Times intern.