One of the dubious joys of writing a new book is getting the word about the book out via promotion and marketing. In the 8 days since No Regrets Parenting was released, the response has been truly gratifying – with the book finding its way to the top of both amazon and Barnes and Noble bestselling parenting lists.  Over the past two days, with an eye toward maintaining the momentum, my publisher (Andrews McMeel Publishing) arranged a beautifully choreographed “satellite radio tour” whereby I did 25 back-to-back radio interviews during morning drive shows across the country. It was a unique experience, especially because of an unexpected epiphany that occurred to me in the midst of the interviews.

I was prepared, of course, to talk to radio hosts about the book. What I found myself doing, in fact, was talking to parents about their kids, their concerns about parenting, and their confusion about all the experts’ recommendations that bombard them as parents. It shouldn’t have been a surprise to me that radio hosts have kids – yet I was surprised. Not so much that they had kids, but that they were so forthcoming about their kids on the air, and so candid about what troubles them as parents. My interviews, in many cases, turned out to be advice sessions for parents who are just like me and you – except they happen to host morning drive time radio shows.

There was the mom of the angry teen who wanted to know if it is too late for No Regrets Parenting (it’s not!!). Another host was the mom of two young kids about whom she felt great guilt coming to the studio each day. I spoke to the dad who took his 3 year old on a drive trip out west to find cacti because the little boy asked what they were after seeing a cartoon show – was this an example of No Regrets Parenting, he asked? There were the two wonderful mom co-hosts in Texas, one of whom now has kids ranging in age from middle school through married adulthood, with a grandchild on the way. And her co-host who has 3 grandkids and asked me to write a book about No Regrets Grandparenting (I told her I planned on it!). There was the mom who was so happy that she had an in-home studio where she could share her work space with her 7 year old daughter (only when off the air!), just like she read about in the chapter called “A corner (of your) office” in the book. Three different hosts said they planned on trying  pajama walks the night after the interview and would let me know if they really calmed the kids down like I wrote in the book. One dad host loved the idea of using high school yearbooks and his wedding album for bed time stories, as the book suggests.

There is a universality of parenting. It is a common denominator experience  that we all share, more profoundly perhaps than humans share anything else in common with each other. Even radio hosts have kids, and they’re not afraid to admit it, talk about, and worry on the air about having regrets down the line. It’s because all of us experience tht great common denominator that I wrote  No Regrets Parenting.

And now it’s time for traffic and weather.

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