Christina Crawford is an internationally recognized, best-selling author. She is an advocate for the rights of women and children, a pioneer in making child abuse an issue of national concern, a communicator about the long-term effects of childhood trauma on adult survivors, a business-woman, writer-producer, public speaker, and workshop presenter. She was Commissioner for Children's Services in the County of Los Angeles, and earned her Master's Degree in Communication Management from the University of Southern California. Her autobiographical first book, Mommie Dearest, was on The New York Times bestseller list for 42 weeks, and was later made into a film by Paramount. Her second book, Black Widow, was also a bestseller, and has been translated in seven languages. Her third book, Survivor, was published in 1988. She currently lives in northern Idaho.