Wojcicki's years of experience as a teacher and mother of successful children shine through in her practical advice and relatable anecdotes.

She was taught in no uncertain terms that girls were lesser than boys, and women were meant to be subservient. Parents often pressure their children to pursue similar careers as they did, or to only pursue careers their parents find acceptable.

And I think it is this cult of success, the idea that you only count if you do something exceptional, that is making kids depressed, not the garden variety pressure of parents wanting you to get at least a B. Although she lectures other parents that kindness is more important, throughout the book she keeps giving examples of kids in her class who rose to great success because of her program, or at least rose to a status above that of their family.

That said, I like her TRICK concept and their are some very good (and interesting) anecdotes here to learn from. Furthermore, the values (trust, respect, independence, collaboration, kindness) are the vague ones of seemingly all corporations and for-profit enterprises. She speaks of her experience, of being immigrants, poor, struggling, inheriting trauma, and how that transfers and translates as the generations pass. At the tender age of five, her father told her that boys were more important than girls, and her upbringing reflected this attitude. Her father’s example, that of a distant and authoritarian figure, was something that she definitely wanted to avoid.But if there’s one thing I know, it’s this: You’re happiest – as well as most beneficial to society – when you are doing things to help others. Drawing on a lifetime of experience in getting the best out of young people, educator and mother Esther Wojcicki examines how you can raise your children to be not only successful, but kind and independent too. Known as the Godmother of Silicon Valley – or simply Woj – Esther’s three daughters have all gone on to huge success in their professional fields and, more importantly, their personal lives. A leader in blended learning and the integration of technology into education, she is the founder of the Media Arts programs at Palo Alto High School.