100 Questions From My Child
By Mallika Chopra
Forward by Deepak Chopra

"100 Questions from My Child is a delightful celebration of the wisdom of innocence and a reminder of how important it is to stay in touch with that special time in our lives when possibilities are limitless, and magic is around every corner." -- Arianna Huffington, author of On Becoming Fearless

"100 Questions from My Child is a deliciously insightful journey into the way children perceive the adult world, most importantly the world they share with their parents. This book is a treasure." -- Caroline Myss, author of Entering the Castle and Anatomy of the Spirit

"In our rush-rush world, it's sometimes hard to slow down and match the pace and the natural, wide-eyed wonder of our kids. Chopra shows the harried parent how much power rests in those small moments, and how parents can turn each one into an opportunity to teach empathy, understanding and spiritual growth." -- Dame Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop

"This book is a sweet and tender way to learn how to listen to your child talk and then help guide them to understanding the complexity of human nature while encouraging them to express their feelings. This book leaves you in awe of the beauty of children's purity and the ability we have as parents to love them and teach them to be true to themselves." -- Mariel Hemingway, author of Mariel Hemingway's Healthy Living From the Inside Out

"Mallika Chopra has written a beautiful rumination on life's most fundamental questions, especially tailored for the parent wishing to share wisdom with our children. I wish I had had this book when my daughter was younger. I would have read and reread it many times." -- Marianne Williamson, author of The Gift of Change and A Return to Love

"Wonder is the beginning of wisdom, it is said, and wonder is nowhere keener than in children. Childhood wonder should be honored, respected, encouraged. Mallika Chopra's gentle, loving responses to her children's wonder, so splendidly crafted, will inspire any parent who has heard the infinite 'why' questions -- and which parent hasn't?" -- Larry Dossey, MD, author of The Extraordinary Healing Power of Ordinary Things

"100 Questions from My Child is both delightful and profound, perfect to share with a child - or the child within yourself!" --Christiane Northrup, MD, author of Mother-Daughter Wisdom

"In this delightful celebration of childhood, Mallika Chopra has beautifully captured the innocence and beauty of those precious magical moments we share with our children. Mallika makes you feel that everything you dream for your children is possible with this charming book." --Olivia Newton-John

"Mallika reaches into the heart and soul of the child and brings forth wisdom that only a child could possess. She shows us what mirrors our children are to us and that they are our greatest teachers if we just open our ears to listen." --Marla Maples

I grew up surrounded by people who were on a journey of self-discovery. As my father, Deepak Chopra, is a well-known author and speaker in the self-help space, I have been to numerous seminars and interacted with people who are going through some momentous transition in their lives. Generally, these people are going through a life-changing moment - such as a recent diagnosis of a disease or a divorce -- that have challenged them to think about who they are and where they fit in their community or the world.

Despite growing up in this environment, I have to admit that I was never fully aware of myself - my driving needs, my insecurities, my core beliefs. It was when I became pregnant that a need to really discover who I am became more compelling. Knowing that as a mother, I was going to be responsible for nurturing a new, vulnerable, pure life was an overwhelming sense of responsibility. My actions, my thoughts, my passions, my insecurities, my beliefs would be the impressions that shaped the life of my child. I was going to be responsible for nurturing the mind, body and soul of another human being.

One of the most interesting, fun and challenging aspects of the parenting journey for me has been the process of answering my children’s questions. Even before they could speak, my children began asking questions - questions about how to interact with the world, about what was safe, what was good or bad in their world. And it was my reaction to these questions that began to shape their worldview, their sense of security and trust.

And, of course, as Tara, my elder daughter, became more vocal, she was actually able to put her questions into words, unleashing an unending hunger for information, explanations, justifications, and confirmations. Question after question after question!

There were the questions about behavior - Why do I have to share? Why do I have to say thank you? Why do I have to forgive my sister? - that set the foundation for their choices and values. There were also questions related to the body and the earth - Why don’t my princess shoes fit me anymore? Why don’t girls have tails like boy do? Do trees have feelings? Where do snowmen go? - that provided an opportunity to stir the imagination with fairytales and science. There were the questions that created an opportunity to search, imagine and inspire - Do I have to color inside the lines? How can I help others? How did you choose me as your baby? And, there were many difficult questions -- Where is Maa (my grandmother who died)? Mommy, what’s a bomb? If God is always watching, why do bad things happen do good people? -- that created a need in me to make sure I was responding to them in a conscious, heartfelt manner.

I realized that answering these deeper questions required my own soul searching. For there were many questions I really did not know how to answer. They were questions that made me think about what I believed in and how I perceived my world. And I felt a sense of responsibility to give thoughtful answers that fostered love, confidence, and contemplation. There were also many times when I had to admit to my daughters that I really did not know how to answer a question, and that it was okay to not know.

As their mother, I was creating a context for them to ask and answer questions, setting the framework for how they would approach situations, challenges, and experiences for the rest of their lives. I realized that many times my daughters came up with the answers to questions, sometimes the most difficult ones, by themselves. In fact, their answers were often much more profound than anything I could ever think of.

As I watched them discover the world and find their answers, I was often amazed at their inherent wisdom, connection, and clarity. As I continue my parenting journey, I realize that my daughters are truly also my teachers. Through our conversations, our struggles, and our laughter, I continue to learn and search and question day after day. I will forever be grateful to both of them for challenging me to continually seek and grow and love.

100 Questions From My Child is a collection of some of the questions and answers that my daughters and my family have explored together. When Tara or Leela, my younger daughter, asks me a question with their big, curious, loving, and trusting eyes, I want more than anything else to give them answers that make sense.

In the forward of the book, my father writes:

For a parent, nothing is more important then encouraging your children to ask as many questions as possible and in turn to also to participate in the questioning of everything we take for granted. At the deepest level of our being our soul has a knowingness of all that exists. The knowingness that results with intimacy of our soul results in spontaneous right action: the ability to make the most evolutionary choice in every situation that happens. But the soul must be nurtured through questioning. Who am I? What are my deepest desires? What is my purpose in life? What is the contribution I wish to make to the world? These are questions that shape the meanings and context of our life as we go from childhood to maturity.

100 Questions From My Child

by Mallika Chopra, Forward by Deepak Chopra