Dr. Cheryl Saban Supports Cancer Schmancer!

LOS ANGELES — Feb. 18, 2009 — In her upcoming book What is Your Self-Worth? A Woman’s Guide to Validation (Hay House), psychologist, author, philanthropist and women/children’s advocate Dr. Cheryl Saban, Ph.D. addresses the status of women in the U.S. and around the world, their cultural “value” and their self-worth.

In stores May 1 (English and Spanish versions), What is Your Self-Worth? A Woman’s Guide to Validation is a powerful look at how society perceives women, how they perceive themselves and how women can adopt a personal mindset (Choosing happiness) that not only changes their own lives today but forces a global celebration of women with a futuristic objective of smashing stereotypes, ending oppression and advancing female-centric goals.

Dr. Saban’s mission is to reach out and empower women and to encourage them to personally take control of their lives and happiness (whether a stay-at-home mom or a high-powered exec). While there are many self-help books, few focus on women’s sense of worth and empowerment. Additionally, Dr. Saban’s goal is to initiate a grassroots campaign with a global initiative of creating a step-change in the prosperity and human rights of women worldwide. The book is a “call to action” to encourage us all to take responsibility for the status of women everywhere, asking us to challenge accepted mores and practices through mentoring and philanthropy.

As a catalyst for positively changing women’s lives and to kick off her action plan, Dr. Saban has formed the non-profit Women's Self-Worth Foundation, through which 100% of her author proceeds will benefit multiple women’s philanthropic funds in the U.S. and abroad, including the Cancer Schmancer Foundation.

What is Your Self Worth? A Woman’s Guide to Validation includes insight from world figures, celebrities and “regular” women from around the world, including: Jamie Lee Curtis, actor, author and activist; Fran Drescher, actor, women's health activist and founder, Cancer Schmancer; Diane Von Furstenberg, fashion designer; Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post; Sherry Lansing, philanthropist and children’s rights activist, former CEO of Paramount Pictures and first woman to head a major studio; Barbara Boxer, U.S. Senator (D-CA); and more. The forward is written by Jehan Sedat, former first lady of Egypt, and Shimon Peres, president and former prime minister of Israel. The book has been endorsed by Nancy Pelosi, U.S. congresswoman (D-CA); Christine Grumm, president and CEO, Women's Funding Network; and Zainab Salbi, founder and CEO, Women For Women International.

Several charity partners are onboard to help promote her message, including to date Women’s Funding Network, Heifer Foundation, Women for Women International, Cancer Schmancer, CARE, Plan USA, Saban Free Clinic and the International Women’s Media Foundation.

According to research, 50 percent of our ability to be happy is genetically predetermined and 10 percent comes from environment. But a full 40 percent is by personal choice and intention. The happiness of women, however, is uniquely influenced by a world that pervasively and predominantly views women in the role of wife, mother, helpmate and nurturer. Masculinity is synonymous with authority.

As a successful professional, a happily married woman and a proud mother and grandmother – as well as a woman who has experienced divorce, single motherhood and rape – Dr. Saban’s writings are personal, insightful and empathetic.

A What is Your Self-Worth? personal journal ($9.95 retail value) that encapsulates and personalizes the tasks and quizzes that appear throughout the book – a road map, if you will, for each woman’s journey – will be available for free download in both English and Spanish (with purchase of the book) at www.whatisyourselfworth.com.

Says Dr. Saban, “Women are often the organizers and conductors of everyone else’s happiness and contentment. We need to celebrate ourselves. When you accept and appreciate yourself as a whole, complete, irrevocably worthwhile person – no matter your position in the food chain – you have arrived. Women are pre-programmed by enmeshed cultural and societal influences. Evolutionary road maps needn’t dictate all of your current behavior. We cannot allow antiquated stereotypes to challenge our very being because of the number of our chromosomes. A man is not a plan. Dependency breeds vulnerability.

“You can form new habits! You can find your voice! Unlearn a perceived lack of control over your life. Take strength in knowing that you are capable. No matter what your circumstances are at this very moment, realize you play a part in them. You can never turn back time, but you can move forward and start creating the life you want now.

“Women have helped change the world with their creative abilities by challenging perceived boundaries,” sums Dr. Saban. “There is no limit to the goals you can attain, to the successes you can enjoy and to the art you can create. Our goal is not only baking the proverbial pie, but having a piece of it as well. And being mentors for future generations of young women and men.”

Suggested retail price is $24.95 for the hardcover (available in English only) and $14.95 for the paperback (available in Spanish only).

For more information, visit www.whatisyourselfworth.com.

About Dr. Cheryl Saban, Ph.D.

Dr. Cheryl Saban, Ph.D., is a writer and social commentator who holds a Ph.D. in psychology. She is well known for her philanthropic endeavors and respected for her dedication to pediatric medical research, foster care education sponsorship, mind-body wellness for all ages and ubiquitous, affordable health care. Dr. Saban has written numerous articles about women, children, marriage, parenting and socio-political issues and is a regular blogger for HuffingtonPost.com. Her other books include Miracle Child, Sins of the Mother, Griffin's Play Group, 50 Ways to Save our Children, Recipe for a Good Marriage and Recipe for Good Parenting.

Her focus on chronic illness in children and families helped fuel her interest in women's health and well-being issues, not only for women and families in her city of residence, but for women all over the globe who face challenges. Her first-hand experience working with chronically ill children and their parents – primarily mothers – was instrumental in her decision to write about a woman’s worth; she observed the dedication, multi-tasking and endless devotion required of the moms and the difficulties and road-blocks many of them faced.

Dedication to the well-being of other women aside, the author's personal experiences supply ample input for this book. Dr. Saban was raped when she was 18, married for the first time at 20, a mother at 21, again at 23 and divorced for the first time at 25. She struggled with the concept of her own worth as a consequence of many of her experiences, and brings that emotion and knowledge to the forefront in her work. Her life has been cluttered with ups and downs, roadblocks and difficulties and, eventually, with personal epiphanies and triumphs. After a second failed marriage, she later met and married Haim Saban, CEO of Saban Capital, with whom she had two more children and has been happily married for 20 years.

Dr. Saban’s personal experience as a wife, mother of four and grandmother of four, creates a camaraderie with her readers. She is at once a teacher, a counselor and a student, for she knows from experience that there are few absolutes—that life is about change and adaptation. She does not shy away from disclosing her own foibles, tragedies and triumphs in order to send a message of hope and possibility to others.

Born and raised in San Diego, California, Dr. Saban attended San Diego State College before moving on to Marin. Eventually relocating to Los Angeles, she gained wisdom in the “school of life” before going on to earn her Ph.D. in Psychology in 2005. A member of the American Psychological Association, Dr. Saban is also on the board of Trustees of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, The Los Angeles Free Clinic and The Marc & Jane Nathanson Mental Health Resource Center at UCLA. Other affiliations include The Everychild Foundation, The Los Angeles Rape Center, Plan International, Women for Women International, Women's Funding Network, PeaceKeeper Cosmetics and the Saban Center for Middle East Studies at the Brookings Institution.

A frequent keynote speaker, Dr. Saban and her husband host numerous political and charitable salons and functions each year and believe in giving back to the community. One of her charitable endeavors is the non-profit organization 50 Ways to Save our Children and the Web site www.50ways.org. Set up as a component and compliment to her book of the same name, 50ways.org is a database rich with information about organizations that benefit children and their families.