In my twenties, when I wanted to be doing anything BUT hanging around my parents, it was awkward to be working in a family business with her, writing and educating parents on psychological skills. But in my early thirties, when I became a parent myself, I understood exactly what I was doing, and how my baby’s brain worked. I became a leader and a teacher, supporting mom in her presentations, guiding numerous schools towards better practices, helping other parents up their games, all the while continuing to support mom’s work. She retired from her speaking career when my son was a toddler, flunked retirement and went back on the road with her excellent methodology and enthusiasm.

She flunked retirement three or four times, bringing beloved books back to life when publishers went belly-up, always focused on providing parents and caregivers with much-needed resources for building emotional health. She kept saying, “I can’t retire! The world’s not saved yet!” But now that she really is retired, the world still needs this book. The word “winning” needs to be revisited, as does the term “self-esteem,” and even the word, “family.” I decided to accept her challenge of rewriting The Winning Family through my own eyes, using my own voice, adding my own knowledge from my parenting experience and studies in positive psychology. My son is now the age I was when I started bragging on my mom!