Author

Since I became a parent over 20 years ago, I’ve been fascinated with the lives of women today, and how they vastly differ from those of their own mothers. My quest for answers resulted in a book, co-written with sociologist Deborah Carr, Making Up With Mom. I spent nearly a year interviewing dozens of mother/daughter pairs on the issues that divide them, and then talking with therapists about how to repair this rift. Then I spent another year marketing the book, including phoning over 400 bookstores just before Mother’s Day, urging them to display the book prominently. This led to clear results: the book ranked number three in its category on Amazon just before Mother’s Day. The book took me on an incredible journey, where I crisscrossed the nation as a speaker at various women’s events with Debby. As we spoke about the book all over the country, this issue clearly struck a chord with women: whether to bottle or breastfeed, take a hard-line vs. time-out on discipline, or indulge a child’s finicky palate or insist they eat what’s on their plate — Those are just a few of the hot-button issues I’ve explored in the book — and in conversations with women of both generations. Our talks often led to group therapy, as mothers and daughters shared their stories of joy and heartbreak.