The Secret to Successful Mothering (That Took Me 21 Years to Learn)

One mother’s ode to parenting in all of its complexities — how in loosening the hold on her children she found space to be a better parent

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I didn’t want to write my second book. The book I pitched to my publisher couldn’t have been more different than the one that’s landing “wherever books are sold” this month. But it’s the book they asked for (after they politely rejected my pitch), so it’s the one I was called to create.

I didn’t want to write it because I didn’t feel qualified to deliver what was requested — a book about parenting, filled with the wisdom that sprang from all of my many years of mothering five children. Nope, I couldn’t even pretend to feel like I was the right one for the job. Because the truth is that I was struggling. This offer