Though I don't have legal clearance to give juicy details, through much incredible family dysfunction, both of my girls spent a significant amount of years in the custody of their grandmother.

This precarious situation led me to, though court-appointed, at first, psychotherapy. Several years later of therapy led me to explore and process my own ambiguous childhood that was riddled with sexual abuse. This exploration spawned another realm of self-discovery that led to an extreme appreciation for radical forgiveness (see next section), for which I am eternally grateful, for the maturation of my own emotional health.

The realm of emotional-processing and self-discovery, along with the deisre to leave a by-product of said disocvery to my kids (& others) re: the value in character/value building and steering one's own moral compass, that they may have missed out on, is the largest inspiration, for writing this book.

The contents of these pages represent the conversations, experiences and the transference of knowledge of your mothers morals, standards and values via tough and expressed love that we have had up until your 18th birthday(s) respectively.

I also want to selfishly, prepare and/or reserve my inevitable place in heaven, by fulfilling my charge as a mom.

It is my fervent hope and prayer that every person, who has experienced a fragmented relationship with his/her parent/guardian, can gain enough practical and spiritual advice offered here, to build their own moral compass to live their lives fully and completely in love. Take the necessary steps to heal your relationship(s); it is possible and worth it.

When I make the transition/die, don t cry (much) because I m gone; smile in gratitude for having had me in your life for whatever time we had together. I maintain a posture of gratitude for everything and everybody--whether positive or negative.

The positive people and events, have created an enormous and expansive sense of gratitude (including, but certainly not limited to, my readers); the negative people and events, have spawned an enormous and expansive perplexity of forgiveness and love.

I hope I ve completed my plight as God 's charge as a mother to my own children and many others as well.