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Kimberly Quinn Smith
About the Author
Author of two books, Kimberly Quinn Smith achieved a Bachelor of Science degree from St. Michael’s College, majoring in both Biology and Psychology, a reflection of her interest in both the mind and body and their in intricate connection. She then attended graduate school at Boston College and achieved a Masters of Arts degree in Counseling Psychology. Kimberly has worked within the field of psychology for over seventeen years as a family and child therapist, a parenting skills educator, and a facilitator of teen esteem workshops. She has lived in the small, rural, northern Vermont town of Montgomery for eight years with her husband, five children, and three dogs. Kimberly believes that mothers need to actively learn how to practice self-care, as the majority of mothers have been programmed to put themselves last on the list. Mothers have become accustomed to deriving their honor from running on empty and being everybody’s everything. This is because women have been taught that a good mother is a selfless mother. To be good to ourselves and to do what makes our hearts sing would make us selfish and therefore a bad mother. This is why many of us feel guilty when we buy a new pair of jeans, or sit down to read a magazine instead of cleaning the bathroom while the baby is napping. Kimberly states that, “By taking care of ourselves and re-charging our batteries, we are better able to enjoy the lives we have been given as well as being better able to love and give to our families. By doing so, we are also role-modeling a healthy lifestyle for our children who may eventually be parents someday themselves. We need to stop running around like over-scheduled, anxious gazelles and return to the moment. The present moment is truly all that we have. It is also the only place where joy and peace may be found.” Kimberly also acknowledges that in this fast-paced world we live in that this is all easier said than done and that, “we need to carve out this time and avoid answering the phone during dinner.” In her book Striving for the Purple Heart,” Kimberly addresses the universal feelings of guilt and deprivation that many mothers feel, the source of these feelings, the concept of the supermom, as well as strategies to more fully enjoy motherhood. Kimberly interviews women from across the country and Canada, talking with stay-at-home moms, career moms, moms who work out of their homes, and discusses the issues of each. She also talks with adoptive moms, moms of blended families, and moms of children with special needs. Regardless of which category a mom falls into, the feelings of guilt, failure at not meeting the ideals we hold onto so tightly of what a perfect mother is, the need to “score-keep” or compare ourselves to other mothers is universal, as we are all striving for that Purple Heart. In her second book, “On The Fast Track - teens getting too much too soon in these rapidly changing and uncertain times and what parents can do to stay connected,” Kimberly addresses the issues that teenagers are presently dealing with in relation to their world. She offers strategies to help parents understand their teens, and in a sense to grow with them. Kimberly interviews current experts in the fields of gender issues, social psychology, and clinical psychology, as well as teens who are struggling with alcoholism and drug addiction, depression, social disorders, parenthood, and homosexuality. In “On the Fast Track,” there is a large focus on the issues of attachment and emotional disconnection that is so prevalent in today's society. Click on Published Books to view clips from “Striving for the Purple Heart,” or from "On the Fast Track." Click on Articles for articles written by Kimberly. Books may be purchased on Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com.
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