When Mom and Dad Need Help is officially released to the public!

I'd like to thank everyone who attended the party to celebrate the release of my new book, When Mom and Dad Need Help. Around 135 people showed up at Wilbert's Food & Music in downtown Cleveland on May 14, 2010 to take in some great atmosphere, food, drink, music, and conversation. I was both proud and delighted to share this moment with each and every one of you. I truly appreciate your support!

I would like to quickly share something very special that happened that evening that only a few people know about. My three beautiful daughters--Danielle (15), Nicole (11) and Christy (7) attended the party and were of great help to me at the book table. They would take everyone's name, check them off the list, hand them their book along with a free raffle ticket for their chance to win some great door prizes and then they would send them on down the line to me. It was kind of a frantic time for me and they helped me out in a big way!

"Kind of frantic" included my friend Pat Dinizio of the Smithereens calling me the day before the party and having to cancel his appearance. Not without good reason though. His dad had suffered congestive heart failure on Wednesday night and was listed in critical condition in the hospital so Pat could not leave the New Jersey area for fear of the worst. Our prayers are with Pat's Dad and we hope he makes a quick recovery!

After many phone calls and several panic attacks, Michael Miller, the owner of Wilberts, called me on Friday afternoon (at around 3:30pm) to tell me he'd found an acoustic guitar player to fill in by the name of Will Cheshier. Will did a fantastic job filling in and I appreciated both his talent and effort because he had to step in and fill some pretty big shoes that night. Bravo Will! Bravo!

Anyhow, it was later in the evening --- after all the books had been handed out, when I was making my way through the crowd, that I noticed my youngest daughter Christy sitting down, writing at one of the tables. I was about the go over and see what she was doing when I was suddenly pulled in another direction and I never got a chance to see what she was writing.

Anyhow, a short time later, it was time for Diane and I to get up and thank everyone for attending the party as well as acknowledge some of the great people who had made a contribution to the book in some way, shape or form. I also thanked my wife Diane for all her love and support throughout the whole process and acknowledged my three lovely daughters as well. I am so proud of each and everyone one of them. They know how much I love them. After Diane and I exited the stage, all of my daughters came up and gave me a big hug and brought out a big cake which was made in the shape and design of the book cover! Amongst all the the noise and commotion, my youngest daughter Christy came up to me, grabbed my arm and tugged it downward several times to get my attention. I looked down and she said "Daddy, this is for you" and handed me the three index cards that I've included below.

It's notes like these that make EVERYTHING worthwhile....EVERYTHING. What a special night! I just wanted to share this moment with everyone because it meant a lot to me. I thank God for my family and friends. Much love and thanks to all of you for making this a great night.

As the John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote many years ago:

"There's nothing you can do that can't be done...it's easy...

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE. "

This is so true.


Mike Campbell is the author of a new book called "When Mom and Dad Need Help" which was officially released on May 18, 2010. For more info on him and his new book, go to http://www.iffenwen.com/.