Cécile David-Weill, PARENTS UNDER THE INFLUENCE

Cécile David-Weill is a French-American and the author of two novels Crush (under the name Cecile De La Baume) and The Suitors. She studied literature at La Sorbonne in Paris and was a regular contributor to the French magazine Le Point with a column entitled "Letters From New York."Cécile latest book, Parents Under the Influence: Words of Wisdom from a Former Bad Mother, is part memoir and part researched guide to parenting. Cécile and I discussed the personal parenting struggles that led her to tackle this material, the idea that often we parent with our childhood suffering in the forefront of our minds instead of our children, the cheat sheets she includes at the end of the book to give parents a quick peek at the basic principles, and the idea that there is no one perfect way to parent. I really enjoyed speaking with Cécile whose delightful French accent made me feel like I was strolling with a friend down the Seine. Not that I’ve actually done that, but a girl can dream.