We had the good fortune of connecting with Christina Furnival and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Christina, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I am a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, which would easily be considered a more traditional career. I completed college and graduate school and became licensed in order to provide therapy. That said, I have put my creative spin on it all, taking what I know from my decade in the field to create relevant, engaging, and evidence-based mental health articles and children’s social-emotional books!

By taking complex therapeutic approaches and synthesizing them into manageable and practical tools for my clients and readers, I am able to express my creativity while empowering them to have agency over their life and experiences.

With my multifaceted approach to my mental health career, I am able to achieve my goal of helping parents and children understand themselves better, navigate challenges confidently, and live the life they want, all while allowing myself the freedom to be a stay-at-home mom during the day, a therapist in the evening, and an around-the-clock writer and author.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
When I became a mental health therapist, I had no expectation (or hope!) that I would become an author of social-emotional children’s books one day. But as life so often does, it has unfolded for me better plans than I ever could’ve drawn up. Part of that has been luck, but part of it has been hard work and the willingness to take chances!

My debut book, “The Not-So-Friendly Friend — How to Set Boundaries for Healthy Friendships”, has won a Gold Mom’s Choice Award, has earned #1 New Release banners in several categories on Amazon, is ranked in the top 5000 of ALL books on Amazon, and has completely sold out of 8,000 printed hardcover copies from the publisher in it’s first two months of publication!

My venture into the creative world of writing picture books has proven to be a beautiful collision of my expertise, skills, interests, and passions, as well as it allows me to contribute positively to the world. I set out everyday to make a difference and help people better their own life, and I am able to do so through therapy services, my articles, and books. What has been truly remarkable is hearing from adults the impact of my children’s books on THEM in addition to their children.

I feel so lucky to be able to help parents and children in this way. I am excited for the second book in the Capable Kiddos series, “Fear Not!”, to launch in Spring 2022, guiding children how to courageously face their anxieties and fears head on!

If you’d like to get a copy of “The Not-So-Friendly Friend”, head over to Amazon.com/dp/1683734262/. Or if you would like to purchase an author-signed copy, you can order that through my website at ChristinaFurnival.com/books/.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I adore that San Diego has so many pockets with different personalities and cultures! When guests come to town we love to show them the beautiful nature that abounds at both the beaches and the trails. We love to try out the newest restaurants and explore new spaces in the neighborhoods of North Park, South Park, Golden Hill, Little Italy, La Mesa, and La Jolla. Last year with the kids we had an adventure week where we explored “hidden” treasures our city has to offer, and I highly recommend that to anyone coming to town as well!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I am so fortunate to have an incredibly loving and encouraging family. I am where I am today because of the support of my parents, in-laws, husband, and children! Thank you!

Website: ChristinaFurnival.com

Instagram: Instagram.com/ThisIsRealLifeMama and Instagram.com/CapableKiddosBooks

Linkedin: Linkedin.com/in/christina-furnival-680a5733/

Twitter: Twitter.com/TheRealLifeMama

Facebook: Facebook.com/ChristinaFurnivalRealLifeMama

Youtube: Youtube.com/channel/UCj6sM7ReNHjAfAojGH7z6NQ/

Image Credits
Tom Furnival, Kevin Tostado, and Shannon Bailey of Lil Bird Photography

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutSocal is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.