With Po Bronson, Ashley Merryman is the co-author of NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children. NurtureShock is an exploration of the cutting edge research in child development and parenting that will forever change the way you think about children.

A New York Times Bestseller, NurtureShock was one of Amazon's best-selling of all books last year – in just three months of release. Bronson and Merryman have written for Newsweek, New York Magazine, Time, The Daily Beast, The Guardian (UK), and many other publications. Their work has been featured by Good Morning America, Nightline, AC360, Fox & Friends, "All Things Considered," "Fresh Air," and "Talk of the Nation." Merryman has appeared on The Charlie Rose Show, AC360, This American Morning, MSNBC, Kurt Andersen's Studio 360, "RadioWest," The Brian Lehrer Show, and dozens of other radio and television shows, both nationally and internationally.

Even before NurtureShock was published, Bronson and Merryman's New York Magazine article on the effects of praise had already changed how parents around the world speak to their kids: over 1,000 blogs linked to the article, adopting its finding that we should praise children for effort, not "smarts." However, their work isn't simply popular. Instead, it is the vanguard in both a new style of science reporting and a new approach to reporting on children and parenting, the result being that they've set a new standard in journalism.

NurtureShock has received dozens of rave reviews and landed on over 35 "Best of 2009" lists. What's truly extraordinary is the unheard-of way acclaim for NurtureShock cuts across genre and audience. The book has been honored as among the Best in General Nonfiction (Barnes & Noble, iTunes), and Best Overall (Library Journal, The Onion's AV Club), while also being tapped as one of the Best in Education (Scholastic.com), Best of Science Reporting (Discover and Seed magazines), Best in Personal Development (Audible.com), Best in Parenting (NurtureMama.com, Parenthood.com) and the Best in Political/Social Issues (BigThink.com). And now NurtureShock will be printed in 15 languages around the world.

At the same time, Bronson and Merryman's writings have been cited as a scientific authority in preeminent journals such as The Lancet, British Journal of Developmental Psychology, Infancy, Developmental Review, Cambridge Journal of Education, Early Years Education, Journal of Black Studies, Journal of Healthcare Leadership, Police Quarterly, and the Georgetown Law Journal. Their reportage is also considered authoritative science that has been studied in courses at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab, Columbia University's Teachers' College, University of Texas at Austin, University of Georgia, University of South Carolina, Boise State University, San Jose State University, and many others.

NurtureShock won the 2010 "Audie" for Best Audiobook (Personal Development) and the 2010 Books for Better Life Award for Best Parenting / Childcare book, while Bronson and Merryman have also received citations from the Education Writers Association and ResearchBlogging.org. They previously won the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Award for Best Science Journalism, a Clarion Award for Best Magazine Feature, the Mensa Press Award and the award for outstanding journalism from the Council on Contemporary Families.

Merryman is an acclaimed public speaker, having appeared at such venues as Yale University, the Aspen Institute, PopTech, 92nd St. Y Tribeca, The Los Angeles Times Book Festival and other conferences and venues around the nation.

Merryman holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts and a Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University. Previously, Merryman was a litigation attorney and a speechwriter in the Clinton Administration. She lives in Los Angeles, where she has directed a small all-volunteer tutoring program for inner-city kids for 11 years; in that time, her program has helped over 800 children. For her civic involvement, Merryman received commendations from both the Clinton and Bush Administrations.

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NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children

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