Michael J. Bradley

Michael Bradley grew up in Philadelphia, where he attended parochial schools before moving on to LaSalle College on a military scholarship. After briefly serving as an officer in the U.S. Army, he entered law school and supported himself with a temporary job counseling troubled adolescents in an inner-city Philadelphia high school. To his amazement, he developed a passionate interest in his new sideline job and switched to graduate studies in psychology, ultimately earning a doctorate from Temple University.

Since then, Dr. Bradley has worked with children, adolescents, and their families in treatment settings ranging from jails, to social service agencies, to private practice. His professional experience with children encompasses virtually every aspect of youth work.

In addition to working as a licensed psychologist, Dr. Bradley holds specialized certification in the treatment of substance abuse disorders from the American College of Professional Psychology. He is also a member and Fellow of the American College of Forensic Examiners, and is called upon to give expert courtroom testimony.

As an expert on adolescent behavior, Dr. Bradley is frequently quoted in the press. He has also appeared on hundreds of TV and radio programs, including NBC's Today Show, CNN World News Tonight, Pure Oxygen and National Public Radio. He delivers speeches before national and state PTA conventions and many other parenting and professional groups, and he can be booked to conduct seminars and workshops and deliver keynote speeches almost anywhere.

Dr. Bradley has received ten national publishing awards for his books, including a Benjamin Franklin award for "Best New Voice in Nonfiction." He is also a recipient of the prestigious William Penn Humanitarian Award, Commission on Human Relations.

Dr. Bradley, his wife Cynthia, and their biological son Ross adopted Sarah, a brave and beautiful baby who arrived in this world with tremendous challenges and then survived the most difficult first year of life that most can imagine. After Sarah and the Bradleys finally found each other, that new family went through a terrible time of forging attachments. But after a year, Sarah suddenly blossomed into an incredibly loving and happy little girl. This "gut-wrenching and indescribably rewarding" experience reinforced the core premise of Dr. Bradley's work with children, which holds that "love is indeed the most real, potent aspect of parenting. And, in parenting, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

Dr. Bradley lives with his family in suburban Philadelphia, where he worries incessantly that his teenage son will grow up to be just like him.