HOW TO: Give Back for Earth Day!

THE POWER OF GIVING by Azim Jamal and Harvey McKinnon  provides a wealth of down-to-earth ideas, exercises, and real-life stories that reveal to each reader the unique gifts he or she has to give?including kindness, ideas, advice, attention, hope, and more?and the many ways you can benefit from giving them, from better health to better job prospects.

Purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Indiebound.

 

HOW TO PLANT A TREE by Daniel Butler encompasses a wealth of both useful and inspiring information, including fascinating miscellany on some of our most beloved tree species like the willow, the oak, and the plum; how to calculate a tree’s age; and how you can use trees to fight climate change. This book will inspire readers to view trees as living structures of hope that will be treasured for generations to come.

Purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Indiebound.

 

GROW THE TREE YOU GOT & 99 Other Ideas for Raising Amazing Adolescents and Teenagers by Tom Sturges - presents “golden rules” for raising happy, healthy, and compassionate adults. His mantra? It’s impossible to show our children too much respect, but it’s worth the effort to try.

Purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Indiebound.

 

Some more great titles for Earth Week…

 

THE SCAVENGER’S MANIFESTO by Anneli Rufus and Kristan Lawons invites readers to discover one of the most gratifying (and inexpensive) ways there is to go green. Whether it’s refurbishing a discarded wooden door into a dining-room table; finding a bicycle on freecycle.org; or giving a neighbor who just had a baby that cute never-used teddy bear your child didn’t bond with, this book charts the history of scavenging and the world-changing environmental and spiritual implications of “Scavenomics,” and offer readers a framework for adopting scavenging as a philosophy and a way of life.

Purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Indiebound.

 

MAIN STREET VEGAN by Victoria Moran  offers a complete guide to making this dietary and lifestyle shift with an emphasis on practical baby steps, proving that you don’t have to have a personal chef or lifestyle coach on speed dial to experience the physical and spiritual benefits of being a vegan. This book provides practical advice and inspiration for everyone—from Main Street to Wall Street, and everywhere in between.

Purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Indiebound.

Tarcher’s Father’s Day Gift Guide!

You’ve already done the World’s Best Dad coffee mugs, the neckties, the cufflinks, and the breakfasts in bed. What else is there to give your dad to make this Father’s Day a day to remember? If your dad loves to read, then Tarcher/Penguin has you covered. Check out our list of suggestions below, and have a happy Father’s Day!

 

(Of course, it’s not just dads who would love these books—they’re great gifts for any parent or loved one!)

 

Cat Daddy: What the World’s Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean by Jackson Galaxy – No matter if you’re a cat person or a dog person—or even if you’re not an animal person at all—this unconventional memoir is sure to inspire you. In Cat Daddy, Jackson Galaxy (star of Animal Planet’s My Cat from Hell) tells the gripping story of how the original cat from hell helped him get his life back on track.

Purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Indiebound

 

The Internet Is a Playground: Irreverent Correspondences of an Evil Online Genius by David Thorne – For the dad who likes comedy—on or off the Internet—this volume is a must-have. Australian satirist David Thorne’s New York Times-bestselling book The Internet Is a Playground is the complete collection of viral e-mails and articles (including his best-known, “Missing Missy”) from Thorne’s infamous, hilarious website, 27bslash6.

Purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Indiebound

 

Grow the Tree You Got: & 99 Other Ideas for Raising Amazing Adolescents and Teenagers by Tom Sturges – Even the best dad in the world can use a little help at times. In Grow the Tree You Got, Tom Sturges collects 100 tested- and-true tips for parenting children through their adolescent and teen years to guide them to become exemplary adults.

Purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Indiebound

VIDEO: Tom Sturges talks parenting, teens on KCAL

Tom Sturges recently joined to KCAL, LA’s CBS affiliate, to discuss his new book Grow the Tree You Got, which shares his rules for the parenting of teenagers. He emphasizes respecting your children and nurturing their individuality.

PW praises Tom Sturges’s “Dalai Lamaesque patience”

Order the book now:
Amazon.com

LISTEN to Tom Sturges on The Parenting Experiment

LISTEN:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Posted on The Parent Experiment
May 8, 2011

Today’s guest is author Tom Sturges, who starts the conversation talking with Lynette and Stefanie about his background with the Grammy voting process. They also discuss his ‘Witness to a Dream’ foundation, where he talks about being a mentor to at-risk inner-city kids. He talks about a particular project he was proud  of, and the power of music and belief.

The group then discusses Tom’s relationship with his ex-wife, and the strange circumstances under which he met his new wife. Tom talks about wanting to write a book about how to end relationships amicably, and gives the girls advice on how to ‘operate’ a man.

The guys then flash back to Tom’s early days with a tumultuous adolescence and trying to have a normal life while living with terrible roommates. Lynette and Stefanie also talk about the play date their kids finally shared, and get advice from Tom on how to nurture their kids interests as they become adolescents.

In the last segment of the show, Lynette says she’s looking forward to her kids becoming teenagers. Tom suggests that parents should ‘myth’ a little bit about their own past, at least until the kids are out of the house and on the way to college. The show then wraps with a discussion of the warning signs you should look out for with teenagers, and the importance of giving them a ‘no questions asked’ option in case they’re in a bad situation.

Truths Of Being A Divorced Dad (HuffPost Divorce)

By Tom Sturges, author of Grow the Tree You Got

Posted on Huffington Post
May 10, 2011

Divorce carries with it a stigma, a harrowing possibility that life will never be as good as it was. Especially for the fathers, because so often the children are court bound to spend the majority of their time in the mother’s care. This leaves fathers scrambling to adjust schedules and get home from their business trips quicker. But divorce does not always have to be this way, and leave that mark on everyone-at least that is what I decided. I committed to my children and to my secret self that it would not be that way for us. I would make every effort every day to make time for us, if only for a few minutes some days. Although life as a divorced father has presented me with a number of challenges, I found ways to make it work. Several of these challenges took me by complete surprise, and a couple of them simply left me dumbfounded. But there you go. Life is what happens. It is a defensive game. You have to be prepared for anything to happen, because anything can happen. Like divorce. Who gets married expecting that to happen.

So here are some of the truths that were most life changing to me, once I joined the club and became a divorced dad–

Over Is Over. Once a woman is done loving a man, that’s it, there is no going back. She probably gave lots of opportunities to stay together, and whatever happened has happened, and now it’s over. Once that point is reached, forget about it. There is nothing to go back to, and nothing to do to change her mind once it is made up. This is one of the fundamental differences between women and men.

Home Is Where The Mommy Is. You read about families breaking up and the kids staying at one house for a few days or the weekend, and then at the other house for a few days, and so on. I could tell where my boys were happiest. They wanted to stay in the house they grew up in, where their mom lived, where they had always lived. So I let that happen. They would stay with me on occasion but not on a schedule. This worked out better for everyone and avoided the problem of two homes, two sets of rules, two bedtimes, and so forth.

There Is No Such Thing As Quality Time. Children measure how much you love them by how much time you spend with them. Quality Time is nonsense, there is only Quantity Time. Once divorced, I visited with my boys every day. Yes, you read that correctly, every day. Sometimes it was only to drive them to school or run a soccer practice, but they saw my face every single day. If I was away on a trip, I called them to let them know what I was doing and that I was always thinking of them.

Have to Be Nice to The Ex. A divorce is not an excuse to finally tell the mother of your children what you really think of her. Nor is an excuse to remove your filter and say whatever the **** you want, whenever you want. It is actually exactly the opposite. If you want peace in your life, accept that it will only happen if you keep your mouth shut, and keep your critical thoughts to yourself. I strictly followed the old Irish rule of good conversation: If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing.

Have to Be Nice To The Next. Undoubtedly the ex moves on, and finds someone new. This is part of the circle of life. She will and so will you. As awkward as it will be at first, the divorced father has to get used to a new presence…in his ex-’s life, in his children’s life, and in his own life. No time for jealousy, no reason to be unkind, and no purpose in harboring a ship full of what might have been’s. When the marriage is over, and it is time to move on, move on. And let the ex do the same, with your blessings.

Divorce is one of the sad things life throws at us. Is it worse than burying people you love, or going bankrupt, or realizing that your best friend has become an alcoholic? It is probably about equally sad, frankly, and just as hard to get over. But given enough time and patience with his own heart, and lots of time with his own children, the divorced dad finds a way and the divorce becomes just another memory.

I live by the strength of the words of Maya Angelou: “The past is the past and the future is perfect.”

Learn more in Tom Sturges’s new book, Grow the Tree You Got & 99 Other Ideas for Raising Amazing Adolescents and Teenagers.

PW praises Tom Sturges’s “Dalai Lamaesque patience”

Sturges (Parking Lot Rules) urges parents to “grow the tree you got,” in this inspiring advice book. Sturges maintains that it’s vital to encourage a child to pursue his or her passion–whether it’s acting, dancing, sports, music, or some other interest–while offering support, trust, freedom, and unconditional love. He incorporates tips from other parents, as well as lessons he’s learned as the father of two sons, 12 and 18, and draws from his own unusual experiences as an adolescent (his father, the writer/director Preston Sturges, died when he was three, and his mother sent him to a “preventative” drug rehabilitation program when he was 13). The author, with Dalai Lamaesque patience, says parents should treat teens with kindness, always putting the adolescent first (if one is tempted to yell, he advises, whisper instead: “Yelling scares and yelling scars”). He also emphasizes the importance of building new bridges when old bridges fail (e.g., if a child gives up a particular sport or other activity, find a new outlet to share together). Wise, warm, and compassionate in tone and message, Sturges’s text offers a range of ways to keep mutual lines of respect and communication open between parent and teen. (June)
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Order the book now:

Upcoming: GROW THE TREE YOU GOT

“Tom has written a book that encourages parents to help their kids follow their dreams to a successful life. It is a thoughtful and timely aid for anyone trying to raise children. Give it a read!”– Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, NBA’s all-time leading scorer and New York Times bestselling Author

“This is a great book.”—Shaquille O’Neal, four-time NBA Champion and multi-platinum recording artist

The parents of teens have no shortage of grievances: “I wish my son would look up from his video games and talk to me”; “My daughter is dressing so inappropriately!”; “Why haven’t they started their homework?” But the solution to raising great teens is not to change them or war against them, writes Tom Sturges (Parking Lot Rules). Rather, we need to nurture their growth.

Sturges shares the rules behind this philosophy in GROW THE TREE YOU GOT & 99 Other Ideas for Raising Amazing Adolescents and Teenagers (coming from Tarcher / Penguin on May 5). While he barely knew his own father, legendary screenwriter and director Preston Sturges, Tom Sturges had always dreamed of being the best father ever. Yet when his first two sons reached their turbulent teenage years, parenting became far more complicated.

In his new book, he shares the 100 simple rules that guided him though their tumultuous transition to adulthood. Culled from fellow parents and his own experiences as a father and mentor to hundreds of Los Angeles’s most at-risk teens, the rules direct parents to support, respect and, most importantly, love their children, even during stressful times. Sections include:

• The Seven Bridges Rule: Before your adolescent begins to rapidly change, build seven strong connections to keep you close. Cheering for your favorite sports team, planning an annual vacation, or worshipping in the same religious tradition can be stable bonds as your relationship evolves.
• Delay by two weeks some important event. Sturges was frustrated by his son’s lateness and wanted to change his behavior without punishment. The solution: for each tardy arrival, Thomas would have to wait an additional two weeks to get his driver’s license. While it took Thomas some time to turn around, he came to learn the importance of promptness and – eventually – get his license.
• Once said, never unsaid. Think carefully before you speak critically of your teen. During these developmental years, your criticism can really sting. Instead of ordering your daughter to change out of a risqué ensemble, begin by complementing her beauty and creative sense of style. Then, kindly suggest she make some adjustments.
• Seven Ways To Keep The Peace: Making decisions, even small ones, can tear families apart. Sturges suggests 7 decision-making rules that can simplify your disputes. Try “half-time, bath time” or the “possession arrow” to end the next family row.
• Liar, liar. Fear of punishment often compels teens to lie. Emphasize that honesty is paramount, despite the consequences. Convey that you’re there to support them through any crisis, but can only do so if you’re fully aware of the situation

Preorder the book now:
Amazon.com
Barnes&Noble.com
IndieBound.com