Laura M. Ramirez is the author of the award-winning book Keepers of the Children. She is the mother of two boys and the wife of a Pascua Yaqui Native American (who was recently inducted into the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame for his career in baseball). She has been writing articles for "Family Matters Online Parenting Magazine" for the past seven years. Her articles feature insights on the tough issues today's parents face from raising biracial children to understanding child development to dealing with school violence.

I had the pleasure of meeting Laura at the New Living Expo in San Francisco in April 2007. She was there with her handsome 13-year-old son Dakotah. I was excited to meet her She had a booth at the Expo promoting her book and was one of the Guest Speakers.

She told me Keepers of the Children uses little known Native American concepts and teaching stories to offer parents guidance on how to raise children to unfold the gifts within their hearts. By teaching children how to create fulfilling lives, parents can deepen their sense of satisfaction with their own.

She began telling me one of the exercises in the book, a simple and powerful ancient Native American ritual where you give your child a spiritual name based on their true nature. It is a name that celebrates the best in him/her and the things he/she likes to do. This is kept secret and honored within the family. Laura’s way of telling the story was very moving and I instantly felt my eyes welling-up. As the mother of 2 boys I could understand how empowering this simple ritual would be for any child. From then on I was hooked.

I spent time with her and her son talking and finding out more about her process of writing this book. As a mother of two boys I know how hard it can be get that balance of home and work, so I wondered how she had managed to produce such a beautiful book with all her other demands. Her dedication to the birthing of this work was impressive. Every morning she started work at 4.30am writing and setting out her ideas, before her ‘Mommy role’ of packed lunches, school runs etc kicked in. She also self published her project. Having worked as a desktop publisher for years I knew there is a lot of work involved in this choice. This is not an easy task and requires patience, time and creativity.

But what a finished product. She told me with great pride in her heart about receiving the Nautilus Book Award in 2004. It was presented to her in the ballroom of the historic Stareet Lehigh Building in New York City, which overlooks Hudson Bay and is owned by Martha Stewart Omnivision. Competition for this award is always fierce; Laura’s ‘Keepers of the Children’ won the parenting category. That year she stood beside such renowned authors as Deepak Chopra who won the overall award. Quite an achievement for a self-published book, and it shows the quality of this truly special piece.

After spending time with Ms Ramirez, hearing her story, and meeting her son I know that this book is based on tried and trusted solid parenting ideas, not just ones that sound good on paper. This is a great book, and it is top of my list of books on Spiritual Parenting. Definitely worth reading and practicing within your home.