Meg Zucker A graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Madison and NYU School of Law, Meg Zucker is an attorney and leader in anti-money laundering and financial crimes on Wall Street. She is also the founder and president of Don’t Hide It, Flaunt It® (DHIFI), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to advance understanding, tolerance, and mutual respect for people’s differences. DHIFI provides “flaunt it” social and emotional learning (SEL) and anti-bullying programming to public and private schools, universities, community service organizations, and diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging programs at Fortune 500 companies. Meg is a high-demand speaker and activist. She has been featured on the TODAY show and was the keynote speaker in the Distinguished American Speaker series in Tel Aviv, hosted by the U.S. ambassador to Israel. In addition to her first book, Born Extraordinary: Empowering Children with Differences and Disabilities (March 2023 Penguin Random House/Tarcher Perigee imprint), Meg’s writing has appeared for more than a decade in Parents Magazine, USA Today, Scholastic Storyworks, The Forward, The Mighty, Motherwell, and Scary Mommy, The Zucker family was the subject of a TLC special, My Extraordinary Family.

BORN EXTRAORDINARY: EMPOWERING CHILDREN WITH DIFFERENCES AND DISABILITIES
(Tarcher Perigee, March 7, 2023)

A parent’s guide to empowering children to embrace their visible and invisible differences

Meg Zucker was born with one finger on each hand, shortened forearms, and one toe on each misshapen foot, caused by a genetic condition called ectrodactyly. She would eventually pass this condition on to her two sons, and, along with her husband, raise them and their adopted daughter, who has her own invisible differences. Born of the family’s hard-won experiences, this book offers invaluable advice on raising confident, empathetic, and resilient children who succeed, not despite but because of their differences.

Born Extraordinary helps parents of children with differences and disabilities to relinquish their instinctive anxieties, embrace their new normal, and ultimately find joy in watching their children thrive. Often the subjects of unwanted attention—ranging from pitying stares to bullying—Zucker and her sons have learned to ignore what others think and live fearlessly. Also incorporating the stories of other families with visible and invisible differences of all kinds, Born Extraordinary gives parents the tools to meet their children’s emotional needs while supporting the whole family unit. Parents learn how best to empower their children to confront others’ assumptions, grow in confidence, and encourage dialogue—rather than silence, fear, and shame—around difference.