Moving up the age ladder in families, there is more opportunity to write from personal experience. Consider the bestseller, Louder Than Words, in which the author, Jenny McCarthy, tells of her successful efforts to save her son from autism. Indeed, receiving many favorable responses from readers, McCarthy wrote a follow-up, Mother Warriors, in which she shares stories from parents with autistic children.

However, if you are not an authority, be prudent dispensing advice. Relating your experiences and observations and allowing the readers to draw their own conclusions is the wiser course. For instance, if you have a child with attention deficit disorder, you can write about how your family managed and perhaps even share successful coping strategies, but leave it to books written by experts such as Healing ADD by Daniel Amen, MD, to suggest that in some instances the standard treatment of Ritalin makes matters worse.