My name is Keri Tawney, and I wrote this book for my daughter Kassie as she graduated. I began writing it during one of the hardest times of my life, after losing my brother just one month before both her graduation and my nephew’s. I had been thinking about this book for a long time, and during her senior year I started writing down the things I wanted her to know.

The summer before she left for school, I took a chance and self-published six copies. Kassie received the first, two went to my nephews, one went to my mom, and two were kept as editing copies. I have now printed my first 100, in the hope that these words reflect the hearts of other parents who want to support their children as they begin this next great adventure.