This is an open letter from Path To Publishing to every parent or grandparent who watches in frustration as their children grow up amidst growing racial divisions and escalating tensions, fearing for their safety, and wonders, “What can I do?”
The answer: Help us open the doors to communication and change the conversation around race relations.
Parenting and grandparenting is a leadership position. Society may forget this, but it is true. A parent’s influence begins the moment of the child’s conception and lasts all the way through to death.
No matter what peer influence may come or what social pressures may exist, parents are the most important influence in any child’s life. Nikki T. Anthony’s new book, The Price We Pay, is told from the perspective of a Black teenage girl whose relationship with her parents is something all too familiar to many parents: she’s rebellious and doesn’t trust her parents.
The relationship between her and her father is especially strained. Adding to the strain between them is a community that’s experiencing escalations in racial divisions due to unresolved and unaddressed injustices that have piled up over years.
Reading this book may prove difficult for many parents and grandparents, but we encourage them to use this book as a means of opening the door to conversations that begin with race relations and end with discussions about their own relationships.
Those conversations aren’t easy to have and staying calm enough to listen through them is tough. This isn’t about blaming parents and grandparents for the problems.
Blame does not help the teen, the parent, or the grandparent and does nothing to solve the problem. This is about opening the door to communication so that solutions that work for all sides can be found.
We aren’t asking parents and grandparents to do this without support, though. Our pledge to those who step up to #JoinTheConversation is that our service will not stop when the book is delivered.
We will be offering those who #JoinTheConversation access to:
- Magnetic Thought Leadership Training to equip them to lead these conversations in a way that creates an inviting, respectful space where all voices are recognized and seen as being of equal value.
- Lessons in how to hold difficult conversations that are productive and meaningful where both sides feel respected and heard, yet challenged and encouraged to find room for compromise.
- A Study Guide to navigating the challenges of discussing sensitive topics.
- A community of like-minded individuals who are ready and willing to lend their support and encouragement along the way.
We want to encourage parents and grandparents to support Path To Publishing’s mission to support our efforts to change the conversation around race relations and set the example for their teens of how to navigate the challenges that face them. We know that the leadership of parents and grandparents is a powerful force in any teen’s life, and what they do has much more of an impact than what they say.
To discover more about Path To Publishing and our plans for The Price We Pay, visit our crowdfunding campaign at https://ptppress.com/taking-a-novel-approach-to-change. Those who sign up to #JoinTheConversation will receive an invitation to join our private LEADERS community.
And to learn more about our traditional publishing imprint, PTP Press, visit www.ptppress.com.
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