PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — With Mother's Day coming up, a local entrepreneur has written a book he calls "an ode to moms everywhere." Author Blake Gunther explained his motivation for the project and the women he interviewed.
The book is titled "Creatrix: Wisdom, Insights, Principles Shared by the Mothers of Success Stories in Sports, Business and Culture." "Creatrix" is Latin for "female creator."
Gunther, who lives in Chester County, is a businessman whose ventures range from marketing and real estate to car washes. He said he interviewed dozens of mothers for what helped them nurture their sons and daughters to realize their dreams.
"Common themes," he said. "It seems obvious but unconditional love and support."
Gunther said the mothers talked about raising a family of children and how it's a fluid situation when one is a standout.
"Raising kids differently but loving them equally," he said, "so when you have four kids and one's in the NBA. It's a tough dynamic between kids but every kid has to be parented, a little bit differently, but they're all loved equally, which is important."
Among the local standouts, Gunther said, are "Zack Steffen, and he's a professional soccer player, he's from Downingtown, his mom Steph, she's in it. Daniel Ochefu, who played at Villanova. He won a national championship there on the basketball team. His mom is in it, Elizabeth."
Related
The 300-plus-page book includes the mothers of NFL stars, professional surfers and fashion designers. Gunther added another common thread.
"There are no helicopter parents, this has to come from the kid," he said. "You cannot want it for them, they have to have the passion for something. You can't try and live your dreams through them."
Gunther says he talked to the mothers of professional athletes, million dollar realtors and CEOs. The bottom line for the book, he said, is recognizing their struggles and triumphs.
"Getting moms the spotlight that they deserve," he said. "It's an ode to moms everywhere for all the hard work, and it's also just timeless wisdom being passed down to future generations like it's just the gift that's going to keep on giving."
Gunther said "Creatrix" brings together patterns of advice that can benefit parents, and also those they parent.