1. Would you like to tell us a little about yourself, your family, your profession, and where you live in America?
I am a psychologist in private practice, licensed to practice in the state of New Jersey, where I live. I am married to another psychologist, Dr. Russell Holstein, and we practice together. I have two grown children. My daughter is married and has three children, so I am a grandma and love it. My son is still single. I live about 1 and ½ hours from New York City. I enjoy visiting New York. It is so alive and there is so much going on all the time. I live near the sea and often walk along the beach.
2. Tell us briefly what this book is about and your purpose for writing this book.
This book is about a young girl growing up. She keeps a diary and within the diary speaks from the heart about her life. She has good days and bad days. She is happy and she is sad. She is often wise. All of her adventures and daily life is in these pages.
The purposes of the book is to help grown-ups get back to the child inside of themselves and to help kids feel strong and proud to have a ‘voice’. Sometimes grown-ups forget what it is like to be a kid. Sometimes kids feel worthless and not understood. I hope this book helps to correct both problems.
3. What inspired the story of “The Truth”?
Working with children for so many years as a teacher, school psychologist and private practice psychologist, I realized how important it is to validate the inner thoughts and feelings of young people. The format of a diary seemed to make more sense than the format of a novel. This is the first book in a series. In each book the girl will get older and have new problems.
4. Does the name “The Truth” have special meaning?
Yes, I called it The Truth in English because there is a wisdom within young people that is ignored by grown-ups. Yet young people know they have wisdom and they often know how things should be. They may be powerless to change certain things, but they see the truth.
5. Describe the main character of the little girl. What makes her unique?
The girl is smart. She knows how to do a lot of things. She is very sensitive and can be hurt easily. She worries a lot. She is determined to succeed in life. She wants best friends and she is aware of lots of the problems of growing up. Actually, she is unique and yet she is universal in nature. That is why she is not given a name. Many of us, at least us women, were a lot like her when we were growing up.
