No parent wants to admit that their child-even their well-educated, well-grounded, Christian child-could be having consensual sex before graduating middle school. Promise rings, parental contracts and disease warnings provide but meager defense against a culture overrun with weapons of mass seduction.

While many factors contributing to the misguided messages received by children stand outside the realm of parental control-music videos, film, fashion-others, like the meaning of true love, can, and should be fostered at home. Eric and Leslie Ludy, authors of the bestselling When God Writes Your Love Story, present the shocking, unvarnished realities of today’s sexual climate but they balance the bitter pill with a large dose of hopeful, practical advice for parents.