In Step with … Michelle Icard

Local author and speaker Michelle Icard wrote the book on parenting middle-school children— two books, actually. She also holds conferences and summer camps and created an interactive course to help parents and their children connect. We caught up with the mother of two ahead of the release of her latest book, Fourteen Talks by Age Fourteen: The Essential Conversations You Need to Have with Your Kids Before They Start High School, which is available February 23.

You may know her from: Her first book, Middle School Makeover: Improving the Way You and Your Child Experience the Middle School Years.

Family Status: Icard and her husband Travis are parents to a 20-year-old daughter and 18-year-old son.

Hometown: Boston—but she’s lived in Charlotte since 1995.

Currently Lives: Myers Park.

Favorite book from last year: The Nickel Boys.

Favorite Sports Team: Panthers.

I first got involved in writing when… I started my programs for middle-school kids in 2004, and started writing seriously about it a couple years after that. I have had a passion for writing since the ninth grade.

One thing I want parents to know about me is…I just got on Instagram, and I am having a really fun time over there. (Follow Icard for laughs, TV references, and lots of 80s flashbacks.)

One thing I want parents to know about my books is…The intention of the books is to provide relief and practical things parents can begin doing today that can improve their relationship with their child. Parents may have a great relationship with their 10-year-old child, but things can get rocky at age 13. I want to help them build up the foundation of that relationship.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced me to change… Everything. In addition to writing, I hold summer camps for middle-school adolescents, conferences for moms and daughters, and I do speaking events. All of my big items had to be completely revamped. I did a lot of Zoom just like the rest of the world.

After the pandemic, I’m most looking forward to… Speaking in an auditorium again. I really love the energy of doing big talks and the camaraderie that comes with connecting with people like that.

If I’m not at work, you’re likely to find me… On the couch watching TV. I love TV, and I talk about that a lot on Instagram right now too. My current go-to show is “Dragrace” with Ru Paul.

Parents can pre-order Icard’s latest book, which is released Feb. 23.