Shauna Shapiro, PhD , is a professor at Santa Clara University, a clinical psychologist, an internationally recognized expert in mindfulness, and a mother. With twenty years of meditation experience studying in Thailand and Nepal, as well as in the West, Shapiro brings an embodied sense of mindfulness to her scientific work. She has published over one hundred journal articles and chapters, and coauthored the critically acclaimed book, The Art and Science of Mindfulness . Shapiro is the recipient of the American Council of Learned Societies teaching award, acknowledging her outstanding contributions to education, and has been invited to lecture for the King of Thailand, the Danish government, and the World Council for Psychotherapy in Beijing, China. Her work has been featured in Wired, USA Today, Oxygen, The Yoga Journal , and the American Psychologist . Shapiro lives in Mill Valley, California, with her eight-year-old son, Jackson. Chris White, MD , is a board-certified pediatrician, parent educator, certified life coach, and father. He is the creator and director of Essential Parenting, an organization that supports the psycho-emotional development of children and their parents.

His writing has been featured in Pathways to Family Wellness and the PBS series' This Emotional Life blog. White lives with his two boys, Kai and Bodhi, and the love of his life, Kari, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Foreword writer Christine Carter, PhD , is a happiness expert, sociologist, and the author of Raising Happiness: 10 Simple Steps for More Joyful Kids and Happier Parents . Carter has helped thousands of people find more joy in their lives through her books, online classes, coaching, and speaking engagements. She teaches happiness classes online throughout the year to a global audience on her website www.christinecarter.com. Foreword writer Dean Ornish, MD , is the founder and president of the non-profit Preventive Medicine Research Institute and clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.

Ornish received his MD from the Baylor College of Medicine, was a clinical fellow in medicine at Harvard Medical School, and completed an internship and residency in internal medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital. He is the author of six books, all national bestsellers, including: Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease ; Eat More, Weigh Less ; Love and Survival; and his most recent book, The Spectrum .