Blend: The Secret to Co-Parenting and Creating a Balanced Family


Mashonda Tifrere - 2018
    When Swizz married award-winning singer/songwriter Alicia Keys, a new dynamic was born--three adults who loved and were deeply committed to raising Mashonda and Swizz's four-year old son Kasseem. In Blend, Tifrere draws on the insights they gained from their journey as well as advice from family therapists, parenting experts, and other blending families, to provide an invaluable resource for blended families.Statistics show that one in three Americans is now a step-parent, stepchild, step-sibling or other member of a blended family. The number of first time marriages or romantic relationships that end in divorce or breakups and the high percentage of remarriages and new relationships that involve children demand a unique, life-affirming approach to processing the end of one relationship and the rebirth of a new familial dynamic with the well-being of children at its center. In this book, Tifrere shares intimate details on how she and her co-parents used communication, patience and love to create an environment where they were able to work as a team and all the children involved could thrive.Blend will inspire a generation of families.

True Mom Confessions: Real Moms Get Real


Romi Lassally - 2009
    It wasn't with my husband." Romi Lassally provides a judgment-free zone where women can reveal their mommy misdemeanors. From not feeling like cleaning up vomit in the middle of the night, to barking something completely inappropriate to the children, to wanting to be pawed by hands that aren't covered in jelly, the confessions pour in daily. Heartfelt and hilarious, naughty and nasty, frank and outrageous, the confessions culled together for this book represent the best-or the worst?-of those humbling hidden secrets of motherhood in all its glorious messiness as improvisation and triage. They dare to suggest that it's okay for moms to make mistakes, to have unkind thoughts, to publicly or privately embarrass themselves-and above all to be human.

My Emily


Matt Patterson - 2011
    Emily wasn't born perfect - so one might think. She was born with Down Syndrome and many would jump to the conclusion that she would have very little hope for a life with any significance. Two years later came the diagnosis of leukemia. What little hope remaining turned to no hope whatsoever - or so one might think. The life of this little girl, with all its perceived imperfections, had great meaning. Her loving nature and courage touched the hearts of everyone she met. She also taught them how to value their own lives - even with their many "imperfections."

Why Smart Kids Worry: And What Parents Can Do to Help


Allison Edwards - 2013
    Kids who are advanced intellectually often let their imaginations ruin wild and experience fears beyond their years. So what can you do to help?In Why Smart Kids Worry, Allison Edwards guides you through the mental and emotional process of where your child's fears come from and why they are so hard to move past. Edwards focuses on how to parent a child who is both smart and anxious and brings her years of experience as a therapist to give you the answers to questions such as:-How do smart kids think differently? -Should I let my child watch the nightly news on TV? -How do I answer questions about terrorists, hurricanes, and other scary subjects?Edwards's fifteen specially designed tools for helping smart kids manage their fears will help you and your child work together to help him or her to become more relaxed and worry-free.

10 Things Every Woman Needs to Know About Men: Understand His Mind And Capture His Heart


Sabrina Alexis - 2015
     For as far back as humanity goes, women have struggled to understand why men behave the way they do. Does he like me? Why won’t he commit? Why doesn’t he text back? Does he mean what he says? Why is he withdrawing? How does he really feel? These are just a few examples of questions that women all over the world are desperate to know the answers to… and now they can, once and for all. This book takes a look at the most common relationship scenarios—the ones that cause the most confusion—and explains everything. It provides a breakdown of the male psyche, as well as honest confessions from the authors and men who were brave enough to share their stories. 10 Things Every Woman Needs to Know About Men will free you from all your doubts and confusion and give you the gift of clarity. You will never again feel the need to try to figure him out… instead you can bask in the joy of just understanding exactly why he does what he does.

From Our House: A Memoir


Lee Martin - 2000
    This candid memoir reveals how Lee grew up to know his father as a harsh, angry man, but underneath it all is the painfully deep, strong current of real love (Reeve Lindbergh, author of Under a Wing).

The Great Book of Badass Women: 15 Fearless and Inspirational Women that Changed History


Rachel Walsh - 2020
    

And Then I Had Kids: Encouragement for Mothers of Young Children


Susan Alexander Yates - 1988
    Through the challenges of raising those five young children, Susan realized the need for an honest, practical book that helps parents through that time of life. This new edition of the best-selling And Then I Had Kids contains guidance for dealing with common struggles such as discipline, priorities, and fatigue. Susan is honest about the frustrations of parenting, yet encourages parents through her own experiences. She offers a biblical perspective on family life, inspiring mothers (and fathers!) to create a loving atmosphere, find good role models, and shape a Christian home.

Talk to Me First: Everything You Need to Know to Become Your Kids' "Go-To" Person about Sex


Deborah M. Roffman - 2012
    Talk to Me First is for any parent who wants to become and remain the most credible and influential resource about sexuality in their children's lives.

The Lifegiving Parent: Giving Your Child a Life Worth Living for Christ


Clay Clarkson - 2018
    We're flooded with so much practical information that we wonder if we're choosing the right way. And we may be missing the one thing God really wants us to give to our children: His life. God doesn't include a divine methodology for parenting in the Bible, but He does provide principles that can enable any faithful parent to bring His life into the life of their home.In The Lifegiving Parent, respected authors and parents Clay and Sally Clarkson explore eight key principles--heartbeats of lifegiving parenting--to shed light on what it means to create a home where your children will experience the living God in your family. Now parents of four grown children--each with their own unique personality and gifts--Sally and Clay have learned (sometimes the hard way!) that the key to shaping a heart begins at home as you foster a deep and thoughtful God-infused relationship with each child. Filled with biblical insight and classic Clarkson stories, The Lifegiving Parent will equip you with the tools and wisdom you need to give your children much more than just a good Christian life. You'll give them the life of Christ. (Don't miss the companion piece, The Lifegiving Parent Experience!)

Plays With Cars


Doug DeMuro - 2013
    In “Plays With Cars,” the former Porsche manager covers some of his most ridiculous decisions, like buying an old Land Rover sight unseen, taking a Mercedes AMG station wagon to a rural Georgia dragstrip, and roadtripping across the United States in a Lotus Elise without air conditioning. He’s also reviewed his former cars, which range from a Mercedes G-wagen to a Nissan Cube. Most importantly, he wrote this entire description himself in the third person.

I'd Trade My Husband for a Housekeeper: Loving Your Marriage after the Baby Carriage


Trisha Ashworth - 2009
    Here they return with a frank, yet encouraging look at marriage post-tots. They set out to discover if parenthood has to be incompatible with conjugal blissand if so, how to change that. To find out, they spoke to hundreds of mothers (and quite a few fathers). I'd Trade My Husband for a Housekeeper examines the challenges of modern parenthood for married couples today and it extends a loving hand so that mothers can step out of the madness, make the most of what they have, and learn to love their marriages as much as they love their husbands and kids.

If I Have to Tell You One More Time. . .: The Revolutionary Program That Gets Your Kids To Listen Without Nagging, Reminding, or Yelling


Amy McCready - 2011
    You know he heard you, but he ignores you. You ask again and still...no response. You've tried everything-time-outs, nagging, counting to three-and nothing seems to work. In If I Have to Tell You One More Time..., founder of the popular online parenting course Positive Parenting Solutions Amy McCready presents a nag- and scream-free program for compassionately, yet effectively, correcting your children's bad behavior. In this invaluable book, McCready shows parents how an understanding of the psychological theory espoused by Alfred Adler (1870-1937) can put an end to power struggles in their households. Adlerian psychology focuses on the central idea that every human being has a basic need to feel powerful-with children being no exception to the rule. And when this need isn't met in positive ways, kids will resort to negative methods, which often result in some of the most frustrating behavior they exhibit. If I Have to Tell You One More Time... provides the knowledge and tools parents need to address the deeper issues that inspire their children to misbehave. Read this book and rediscover the joy of parenting!

The 7 Worst Things Good Parents Do


John C. Friel - 1999
    The Friels examine the seven most ineffective and self-defeating behaviors that parents display again and again. Working from the ideas that even small changes can have big results, the authors give parents concrete steps they can take to end these behaviors and improve the quality of their parenting. Whether you're contemplating starting a family, have children who haven't entered school yet, are struggling with rebellious teenagers, or are empty-nesters wondering how to be better parents to your grown children, you can't afford not to read this book. With the same clarity and concrete examples that have sold over 350,000 copies of their books, the Friels offer readers forty years of combined experience as practicing psychologists, and fifty years of combined experience as blended-family parents. The material in "The 7 Worst Things Parents Can Do" has been field-tested in the authors' own household, with hundreds of their clients, and with thousands of their workshop and Clearlife Clinic participants. It will cause immediate changes in your behavior, in your child's behavior and will improve the lives you share together.

Siblings Without Rivalry: How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too


Adele Faber - 1987
    Parents themselves, they were determined to figure out how to help their children get along. The result was Siblings Without Rivalry. This wise, groundbreaking book gives parents the practical tools they need to cope with conflict, encourage cooperation, reduce competition, and make it possible for children to experience the joys of their special relationship. With humor and understanding—much gained from raising their own children—Faber and Mazlish explain how and when to intervene in fights, provide suggestions on how to help children channel their hostility into creative outlets, and demonstrate how to treat children unequally and still be fair. Updated to incorporate fresh thoughts after years of conducting workshops for parents and professionals, this edition also includes a new afterword.