The Gifted Parenting Journey

I am thrilled to announce that my book, The Gifted Parenting Journey: A Guide to Self-discovery and Support for Families of Gifted Children, has been published through Gifted Unlimited Press. It is also available for pre-order through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 

The Gifted Parenting Journey addresses the challenges parents of gifted children face, encourages self-awareness as an essential component of parenting, and recommends how to find guidance and support. It is a tribute to all the parents out there who have struggled and questioned their parenting decisions, yet persisted in their advocacy efforts, sustained by love for their child. Throughout this book, parents are encouraged to discover more about their deeper emotions and motivations, what influences their attitudes and expectations, and how certain reactions are elicited in response to the gifted experience. They are prompted to explore questions that should increase self-awareness, and are offered both practical tools for managing their emotions and guidelines for improving their parenting skills.

While many excellent books about raising gifted children are available, most focus on the child, but pay little attention to the parent's unique experience. The Gifted Parenting Journey, instead, addresses the needs and emotional life most commonly faced by parents of gifted children. What they might experience, worry about, and feel. What nags at them, stumps them, and evokes their greatest concerns. What deep emotions fill them with dread and envy and regret. How they can weather and even thrive despite roadblocks to their child's education, criticism from others based on stereotypes of the gifted, and their own self-doubts. Understanding your thoughts, assumptions, and feelings - and distinguishing these emotions from what your child needs - is key to making informed parenting decisions.

The Gifted Parenting Journey combines the latest research and theory, clinical insight based on decades of experience as a psychologist, and vignettes from situations parents of gifted children routinely face. What is particularly exciting, though, is that results from the online survey that YOU, dear readers, participated in are shared throughout this book. Survey findings and personal anecdotes from the 428 parents who responded to the survey highlight what other parents want readers to know. I am immensely grateful to those of you who were willing to participate in the Gifted Parenting Survey. Much has been theorized, but so little is actually known about what parents of the gifted truly feel; it is quite powerful to learn from all of you and compile results from your shared wisdom. 

My hope is that this book will provide some guidelines, strategies, and support, along with the occasional challenge, and enhance your parenting journey. As always, please let me know your thoughts, questions, or reactions. I will continue to share highlights from the book and some specific findings from The Gifted Parenting Journey in future blog posts and articles.