Jessica Lahey is a teacher, writer, and speaker. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling book, The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed and The Addiction Inoculation: Raising Healthy Kids in a Culture of Dependence. She co-hosts the award-winning #AmWriting podcast with KJ Dell'Antonia, Sarina Bowen and Jennie Nash and has written about education, parenting, and child welfare for The Atlantic, Vermont Public Radio, The Washington Post and many others. Her bi-weekly column, The Parent Teacher Conference, ran at the New York Times for three years. Jessica earned a B.A. in Comparative Literature from the University of Massachusetts and a J.D. with a concentration in juvenile and education law from the University of North Carolina School of Law. She and her husband live in Vermont.