About the Author

Commonly known as Australia's 'queen of common sense', Maggie Dent is an accidental author, educator, and parenting and resilience specialist with a particular interest in the early years and adolescence. Maggie was a teacher for 17 years before working as a counsellor with young people and their families, in suicide prevention, and in palliative care and the funeral industry. Now an in-demand writer and speaker, Maggie is a regular contributor to Fairfax's Essential Kids website and Teachers Matter magazine, on commercial and ABC radio around Australia, and on TV programs such as The Daily Edition, Sunrise, Today Extra and news. She is the author of eight books, and a prolific creator of resources for parents, adolescents, teachers and early childhood educators. Maggie is the proud mother of four sons, and an enthusiastic and grateful grandmother. She lives in the Illawarra region of NSW with her good bloke Steve Mountain and their dear little dog, Mr Hugo Walter Dent.