ABOUT THE AUTHOR
KATHLEEN
Kathleen Cawley is a 53 year old mother to 9 year old boy-girl twins, a physician assistant who has practiced pediatric and adult medicine for 18 years and a writer who grew up with a bunch of nerdy intellectuals.
At age 39, Kathleen married a man with insane amounts of energy, and a history of questionable youthful activities that had led to an extraordinary number of head injuries.
KEVIN
Assured of his new found mature perspective on the risk of imminent death from reckless behavior, Kathleen agreed to start a family with this man. After all, his smile grew wider when she argued with him, and he could match her pun for pun.
UGH!
After 5 years of fertility treatment, a battle with aggressive prostate cancer, a post miscarriage stroke, a high-risk twin pregnancy at age 45, and an emergency c-section that veered into dangerous territory, Kathleen and her husband found themselves… rather overwhelmed by new parenthood!
ONLY MOMENTS ON THIS EARTH
Seeking parenting help and wisdom in books, neighbors, and new friends from the Mid-Peninsula Parents of Multiples advice forum, Kathleen slowly garnered experience in this new skill of “life with kids.”
As she grew into her own parenting britches, Kathleen shifted from the parenting advice seeker to the giver of experienced help. Nick-named “the Oracle of MPPoM” she wrote well over 145 forums posts and 65,000 words of support and advice.
THE FIRE FIGHTERES ARE SHORT IN THIS TOWN!
She also found herself looking at and researching the social and cultural changes of the last 200 years with a new perspective. These changes have radically altered the lives of children and the goals of childhood. Unfortunately, not all of these changes have been beneficial.
In addition, the intimacy that patients shared with Kathleen over her years as a physician assistant, deeply informs the way she looks at parenting issues. People shared their economic, emotional, professional, financial, and social woes with her.
They gave her a glimpse into often painful and difficult parts of their lives. The recognition of the reality of these powerful forces in a family’s life guides Kathleen’s perspective on todays’ parents and families.
YEP, THEIR FACES GOT STUCK THAT WAY.
Three years ago, the family moved from the cool, crowded, chaos of the San Francisco bay area to the unrelenting heat of the Sacramento summer sun. Currently an at-home-mom and a full-time writer, Kathleen is working on her first book about growing into parenthood, navigating the cultural pressures on American children and families, and the skills for parenting wild beasties.
BOY AND HIS...CAT HAT?
Hi I'm Kathleen,
That first part was my official "author bio." But really, who is this person? My birthday card says: “Sassy Since Birth.” Hmm… sassy, more than a bit dramatic, obstinate…definitely obstinate, opinionated, vocal, not easy but hopefully interesting? Maybe? I also like silly, exuberant, wacko, off beat, and a lot of color.
Shhh! Don’t tell anyone, but right now I’ve been experimenting with rainbow hair colors. Hee, hee. I’ve always wanted to do that…and well, Kamille died. She was 45 and had fought breast cancer for many years. She was an artist and a fashion designer and a belly dancer and she always had her hair dyed some wild wonderful color.
In honor of Kamille, the time is now for me to go rainbow! I went to a hair dresser and we loaded up my hair with blue and green and purple…and almost none of it took! I thought my grey would show off all the color but instead I discovered that it’s “resistant” to color. I got a few purple streaks but all the other colors just washed out! Color! I want more color!
Now, I’ve been researching and then dumping bottles of color on my head for 3 days and... it all just washes off! I tried a super strong red color shampoo. It stained my hands just great. But, my hair? Zip, zippy, el zippo color in my hair. Grrrr. Next, I tried a semi-permanent bubble gum pink dye that supposedly works on dark hair. Ha! I left it on extra-long and heated it with a blow drier. All I’ve got is a bit of pink at my temples and the same streaks of purple in back. Sigh. Grrrr. Harumph. I’m trying Kamille. I’m trying. My next plan is to go back to the hairdresser and have her load me up with that one purple dye that seemed to stick. I won’t be rainbow but I will ride the color train!
So, there you have it. The author: silly, sassy, wacko, colorful, off beat, exuberant, obstinate, and dramatic. Hopefully, I also manage kind and compassionate. The last two are the most important. I try to remember that. Practice compassion in everyday life…while you’re trying to get the stupid dye to stick to your hair!
Remember: No Parent is an Island!
Kathleen
C.V.
KATHLEEN A. CAWLEY, MS, P.A.-C
Masters of Medical Science, 1997; Emory University Medical School, Physician Assistant Program.
Masters Thesis: Side Effect Considerations in Prescribing Second Generation Anti-depressants
California State University, Hayward, 1993-95
B.A., Underwater Cinematography, Magna cum laude, 1989, University of Maryland, Undergraduate thesis: The Team, a video documentary on underwater rugby.
MEDICAL EMPLOYMENT:
Family Practice, Primary Healthcare Associates, Daly City, CA, 12/11 - 3/16
Family Practice and Urgent Care, Cupertino MedicalGroup, Cupertino, CA 11/11
Family Practice and Urgent Care, Bay Area Urgent Care, Walnut Creek, CA 2/11 - 11/11,
Internal Medicine, Palo Alto Medical Foundation at Camino, Mt View, CA 7/08- 2/10
Urgent Care / ED Fast Track, Kaiser Permanente, Hayward, CA 10/01 – 6/08
Family Practice, Primary Care,P.C. West Branch, MI. 5/00- 9/01
Pediatrics, Mercy Primary Care Associates, Grayling, MI. 3/98 to 5/00
Family Practice, Mercy Primary Care Associates, Grayling, MI. 3/98 to 5/00
Internal Medicine,Mercy Primary Care Associates, Grayling, MI. 3/98 to 5/00
OTHER EMPLOYMENT:
Teacher / Lecturer, classroom and auditorium programs, Education Dept., National Aquarium in Baltimore, '90-'91
