Jane Brooks earned her doctorate at the University of California, Berkeley. She worked as a researcher at the Universitys Institute of Human Development, interviewing, testing, and carrying out research on three generations of representative families studied at the Institute. Her publications include articles relating experiences in childhood to psychological health and social maturity in adulthood. She also worked on a research project in the Department of Public Health that resulted in an article describing the behavior problems of six-thousand children including children from four major ethnic groups varying in age from nine to eleven. She has been a lecturer in the department of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, most recently teaching developmental psychology in 2006. She also served for a number of years on the Clinical Faculty in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco. Her primary work, however, has been children and families seeking help with the psychological difficulties of everyday life. She has taught many classes for parents, teachers, and pediatricians to improve childrens well being and functioning. Her background as researcher, teacher, and clinician, as well as mother, enables her to present a wide-ranging and detailed look at the experiences of parenting and ways to help children grow and achieve their potential in life.