Before our three kids, we were decent people. Interesting even. One of us taught Shakespeare to gang members while the other flew reconnaissance missions off North Korea. But our own children were our biggest challenge. We were passionate and service-driven folks, except we were not demonstrating this to our kids. We spent so much time trying to be good parents that we forgot to be good people.
Something had to change.
Two parents challenge one another to find balance between work and family life. Their stories are both uproarious and poignant as they raise children and strive to leave their mark on the wider world. Filled with tender moments and plenty of laughs, Here Be Dragons recounts the adventures of a family trying to stay afloat—and offers a life raft to the rest of us in choppy waters.
ORDER “HERE BE DRAGONS”
DON’T JUST TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT, TAKE THEIRS:
Here Be Dragons is not just a hilarious book about parenting; it’s a hopeful, honest, and wise book about becoming the grown-up you were always meant to be.
Cecilia and Jason Hilkey, HappilyFamily.com
Parenting is inherently funny and horrible and sweet and enervating and invigorating. Ken and Annmarie capture all of it. And they do so while writing beautifully and with real soul.
Ken Kurson, Editor in Chief of the New York Observer
Here Be Dragons proves that it is possible to raise children with both a sense of adventure and an obligation to serve others. Bravery and kindness are not mutually exclusive. Best of all, Ken and Annmarie show that parenting is a team sport. For anyone who doubts that building a family can indeed be a joyful journey, this book should be required reading.
Eric Greitens, New York Times bestselling author of The Heart and the Fist
There are so many books about parenting about raising happy, successful, loving children. This is a book about raising children who are active citizens in a democracy which, studies show, is more likely to make them happy, successful and loving adults than almost anything else. Ken and Annmarie are American treasures; share their wealth of experience and wisdom.
Joe Klein, author of Charlie Mike and Primary Colors
Ken and Annmarie are two very smart people who have written a very smart book on the many lessons that life has taught them about marriage, parenting, and trying to be good people. If you can handle blunt stories about barf, bedtime, poop, and tears, there s a lot to learn from this book.
Rev. Damian J. Ference, Director of Human Formation, Borromeo Seminary
Equal parts humorous and heartbreaking, Here Be Dragons reminds us that although parenting isn’t always a picnic, it doesn’t have to feel like rat race. In reframing mishaps as adventures and reminding us all to take the time to change our socks, Ken and Annmarie provide both comic relief and solid advice for couples caught in the whirlwind that is parenting.
Katie Hurley, LCSW, bestselling author of The Happy Kid Handbook
This hilarious account of one couple’s parenting voyage illustrates how much more rewarding it can be to occasionally let go of the rudder and let the wind take the sails. Recommended for all high-achievers who venture into parenting with the perfect plan, only to find the baby barfed on your map.
Kelly Watson, coauthor, The Orange Line: A Woman’s Guide to Integrating Career, Family and Life
Through their adventures in life-living and child-rearing, Ken and Annmarie demonstrate the humor, strength, and forgiveness necessary to strike a balance between the home front and the larger world. For anyone trying to navigate both work and family, the Harbaughs offer an amazing and hopeful perspective.
Tracey Miller-Zarneke, coauthor, Before Ever After: The Lost Lectures of Walt Disney’s Animation Studio
Ken and Annmarie manage to be wise, funny, and relatable without being smug, superficial, or ordinary. Their journey from the parents they thought they would be to the parents they actually are is equal parts heartbreaking and hilarious. Here Be Dragons is a must-read for anyone looking to connect with the wonder–and wackiness–of being a mom or dad.
Julie Fishman, coauthor of The Little Black Book of Big Red Flags, and cohost of First Timers, a parenting podcast
I rarely read parenting books anymore. I find more guilt than freedom within most of their pages. But Here Be Dragons is different. I came away from this memoir with a renewed vision of myself as a mom, and a rekindled appreciation for the adventures that have made up my own family’s stories.
Jamie C. Martin, author of Give Your Child the World: Raising Globally Minded Kids One Book at a Time