Parenting with Presence - (Eckhart Tolle Edition) by Susan Stiffelman (Paperback)

About the Book

"Help for parents in applying spiritual principles to everyday child-care, from a therapist and parenting expert. Advice on finding peace, presence, self-acceptance, and happiness in the midst of raising children; other topics include improving communication skills, taking responsibility, managing stress, and cultivating empathy, vulnerability, and compassion."--

Book Synopsis

Our children can be our greatest teachers. Parenting expert Susan Stiffelman writes that the very behaviors that push our buttons -- refusing to cooperate or ignoring our requests -- can help us build awareness and shed old patterns, allowing us to raise our children with greater ease and enjoyment. Filled with practical advice, powerful exercises, and fascinating stories from her clinical work, Parenting with Presence teaches us how to become the parents we most want to be while raising confident, caring children.

Review Quotes

"Shows parents how they can transform parenting into a spiritual practice."
-- Eckhart Tolle, author of The Power of Now

"Clear, wise, soulful, and poetic."
-- Alanis Morissette

"I trust Susan Stiffelman with my heart, my family, and my community because she understands that parenting is not just a job but a spiritual practice. Susan comes alongside parents both as an expert and as a guide, a counselor, a friend, a healer."
-- Glennon Doyle Melton, author of Carry On, Warrior and founder of Momastery.com

"An empathic tenderness runs through this wise and down-to-earth guide to parenting with greater awareness. You can feel the love that Susan Stiffelman has for the families she works with in her therapy practice and her confidence in all of us to grow into the challenges and gifts of being a parent."
-- Myla and Jon Kabat-Zinn, authors of Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting

"With her mix of practical tools and personal stories, Susan Stiffelman shows how to create close, loving family relationships and captures just how transformational and fulfilling parenthood can be."
-- Arianna Huffington, author of Thrive

"This book brings new awareness about a parenting process that increases the health of our culture itself. Recommended to all parents and parents-to-be."
-- Harville Hendrix, PhD, and Helen LaKelly Hunt, PhD, authors of Giving the Love That Heals: A Guide for Parents

"This is exactly the advice and support you need as a parent! Seasoned, wise, and practical, Parenting with Presence helps parents take a deep breath and tend themselves and their kids with compassion, love, and mindfulness."
-- Jack Kornfield, author of A Path with Heart, and Trudy Goodman, PhD, founder of InsightLA

"Parenting with Presence is a gentle but powerful reminder that our own awareness, our own calmness, and our ability to respond and not react to stressful situations are fundamental to raising healthy kids. . . . This is an important work."
-- Tim Ryan, US Representative from Ohio and author of A Mindful Nation

"Who knew that the child or teen crying in the next room is actually our spiritual teacher? Who would have thought that annoying outbursts and provocative behavior could lead to more conscious, spiritually tuned-in, effective, even enjoyable parenting? Susan Stiffelman's groundbreaking, immensely readable guide teaches all we need to know about how to nurture our children -- and ourselves -- to become more conscious, compassionate, and, believe it or not, calmer human beings."
-- Kathy Eldon, founder and chairman of the Creative Visions Foundation

"I stole it from my mother and devoured it! A fantastic read that should be mandatory for all parents. I cannot wait for it to come out so I can hand it out to everyone I know."
-- Amy Eldon Turteltaub, cofounder of the Creative Visions Foundation and vice president of Creative Visions Productions

"One of the best parenting books I've seen in a long while. With clarity, warmth, and wisdom, Susan Stiffelman bridges the world of spiritual transformation with the down-to-earth realities of parenting. Parenting with Presence is full of insights that will set parents on a path of healing and joy. I highly recommend it!"
-- Elisha Goldstein, PhD, author of Uncovering Happiness: Overcoming Depression with Mindfulness and Self-Compassion

"As a mother, I found myself powerfully moved by the insights and exercises in Parenting with Presence. Susan Stiffelman delicately explores what many parenting experts avoid -- the deeper layers of fear, guilt, and shame that thwart our ability to be fully present for those aspects of parenting we find most challenging. A beautiful offering to us all."
-- Katherine Woodward Thomas, author of Conscious Uncoupling

"An enlightened guide to parenting for anyone wanting to raise caring, happy, resilient children while healing their own unfinished childhood issues, Parenting with Presence is filled with parental wisdom intelligently presented and richly woven with examples from real life. A gem of a book!"
-- Marci Shimoff, author of Happy for No Reason

"In Parenting with Presence, renowned expert Susan Stiffelman offers a unique way to bring up our children that combines both wisdom and compassion. Thoroughly practical, the approaches she shares in this remarkable book could help us parents create a strong basis for a truly loving and compassionate connection with our children, while also bringing out the best from us -- our presence, joy, understanding, and kindness."
-- Thupten Jinpa, principal English translator to the Dalai Lama and author of A Fearless Heart

"While reading Parenting with Presence, I kept saying to myself, 'I wish my parents had read this book!' Finally a book on parenting that speaks to all aspects of our 'inner child' and gives each of us the kind of guidance that not only educates but transforms, uplifts, and nurtures both child and parent. Bravo!"
-- Janet Bray Attwood, New York Times bestselling author of The Passion Test: The Effortless Path to Discovering Your Life Purpose

"Stiffelman's engaging work gives parents tools to navigate confidently in both calm and stormy family seas."
-- Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Susan Stiffelman, MFT, is an internationally respected parent educator, therapist, author, and parenting expert. She is the Huffington Post's weekly parenting advice columnist (Parent Coach) and the author of Parenting Without Power Struggles. She lives in Malibu, California.