MY BOOKS

 

How to Raise Perfectly Imperfect Kids And Be Ok With It: Real Tips & Strategies for Parents of Today’s Gen Z Kids

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How to Raise Perfectly Imperfect Kids And Be Ok With It is a unique blend of practical, real-life parenting advice from deep inside the trenches with proven clinical strategies, language, and tips from my childhood friend and contributing author Debra Fox Gansenberg, MSW, LICSW, Founder & President of New Beginnings Counseling Service, P.C.

Today’s kids are cracking under the pressure of their parents’ unrealistic expectations—expectations that they outdo the kids around them in every conceivable way. And that’s created a toxic subculture of stressed-out kids and stressed-out parents who are focusing on everyone else rather than themselves.

As a result, kids are seeing specialists in record numbers and being medicated to control everything from anxiety disorders and depression to social phobias and panic attacks.

With How to Raise Perfectly Imperfect Kids And Be Ok With It, you’ll have a bookful of proven suggestions & strategies & approaches that’ll help you dial down your stress level while you juggle the challenges of parenthood. Because the more pressure we put on our kids to be perfect, the quicker they’re going to crack.

So, turn to How to Raise Perfectly Imperfect Kids And Be Ok With It as an everyday reminder that you’re not the only one out there with a hormonal, impulsive, immature, lunatic for a kid. Reach for it whenever your son or daughter pushes you to the brink. Grab it when you need someone to relate when you’re questioning yourself as a parent. Read it when you just need to bond with someone who’s gone through it all before and come out the other side. Or just hang onto it so it keeps you from falling over the edge and into the abyss. Most of all, read it to reinforce that none of us are perfect and neither are our kids! Join the new parenting revolution!

 
 

Untying Parent Anxiety (Ages 5-8): 18 Myths That Have You in Knots—And How to Get Free

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Untying Parent Anxiety (Ages 5-8): 18 Myths That Have You in Knots—And How to Get Free, my first book with Familius Publishing, is available in bookstores everywhere.

Designed to be like a walking stick and give parents a little extra stability and support as they travel through the most challenging stages of raising kids, Untying Parent Anxiety reminds us that our kids aren’t supposed to be perfect. (And neither are we.) They’re going to screw up, make mistakes, and lose their way. And as soon as we embrace the idea that parenthood is not a straight line, we unlock everyone’s full potential. Through tips and strategies straight from deep in the trenches, Untying Parent Anxiety reinforces that parenthood is a beautiful, imperfect work in progress and the best job any of us will ever have.

 
 

LIFE: It Is What It Is

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Looking for a quick, easy, relatable, thought-provoking, funny, inspiring read? Good, cause I’ve got one for you. My debut book, LIFE: It Is What It Is, is exactly what you’re looking for. And just to give it a little street cred, it spent three weeks on the Boston Globe Local Bestseller List, so it’s legit.

In a nutshell, LIFE: It Is What It Is is a collection of my syndicated opinion columns from 2009-2013. Each chapter (and there are about fifty of them) is one of my It Is What It Is humor columns. And each column is basically a random stream of consciousness about all the stuff that I go through as a mom and a wife and a friend and all the other people that I am. The stuff I deal with at work… the stuff that inspires me and scares me… and the stuff that totally freaks me out. Some columns are about family, some are about relationships, some are about kids. You get the idea. Oh, and since each chapter is a stand-alone vignette, they’re quick, easy to digest, and good for you, like brown rice. 

And regardless of what I might be talking about in any given chapter, all my writing is infused with the idea that attitude is everything—that we can’t control everything that’s happening around us, but we can absolutely control how we react to it.

So stop reading this and go buy LIFE: It Is What It Is. Like, now. Go.

 
 

Here’s what my readers have to say…

Reviews

“Reading Lisa is like sitting down with that older, wiser sister you may or may not have in real life. It is like having a glass of wine and a long thoughtful parent-to-parent talk with the friend who is a step ahead of you with her own kids. It is a reminder that perfection is an impossible goal and that falling short, even sometimes painfully short, we are still good parents.”

—Lisa Heffernan, co-founder of Grown and Flown, NY Times Bestselling Author, mom of three

"Lisa recognizes the power of harnessing relatable resources to help moms and dads find parenting success. How to Raise Perfectly Imperfect Kids and Be OK With It is a fresh and seriously unique perspective into modern parenting. An easy and delightful read that makes any parent feel like it's ok to be perfectly imperfect."

— Amanda Ducach, Founder & CEO of SocialMama, the networking app for moms

"Sugarman and Gansenberg both nail it on the important issues they place on parenting. I am familiar with Gen Z kids, and the advice these women provide is very relevant and should be studied nd applied every day to help our newest generation of children and parents to raise self-sufficient kids that will contribute to society and figure it (life) out along the way."

— Manhattan Book Review

"Lisa Sugarman is the mom friend you need in your life immediately! I’m so grateful to have Lisa’s juicy nuggets of wisdom, calm voice of positivity, and practical tools for navigating mom life in my bag of parenting tricks. She gives permission for the inevitable screw-ups in parenting and gently guides you through it. There are so many gems in this book that my highlighter got a workout! This book will stay close by, and I’ll reference it anytime my attitude needs a tune up."

— Maria Sansone, Emmy Award-Winning television host of Good Day LA, mom of two

"Lisa is like your go-to friend—the one you call for a coffee when you're worried sick about your kids, feel you've lost your way with them, or just want to laugh. She conveys the same warmth, compassion, and positivity in these pages that she does in real life."

—Mary Dell Harrington, co-founder of Grown and Flown, mom of two

“As a mother of two, I learned so much from this book. Raising kids in today’s day and age had me feeling overwhelmed but the tools this book supplied me with allowed me to realize that everything I need to be a good parent is within me. This book also helped me navigate my 4 year olds emotions which I am SO grateful for! Definitely recommend to new and seasoned parents.”

—Anna Gannon, Head of App Content & Community at Expectful, mom of two