List $29.95

Written by Rev. Run & Justine Simmons with Chris Morrow - Audio book narrated by Rev. Run & Justine Simmons - Abridged Nonfiction - 4 COMPACT DISCS - 5 hours

Publisher, Penguin Audio (August 2008)

Listen to an MP3 audio clip.

The stars of MTV’s top-rated Run’s House—dubbed “the new Cosby family”—offer a vital rescue manual for modern parenting.

An icon of hip-hop, a father of six, and an ordained minister, Rev Run has developed a parenting style that is in a class by itself. With his wife, Justine, he launched the blockbuster reality series Run’s House on MTV, now filming its fifth season. The show has proven wildly popular in large part due to the way the Simmons family responds to very twenty-first-century issues. Emphasizing firm boundaries, noble values, discipline, and faith in an age marked by shallow materialism and fragmented families, Rev Run now shares the proven principles that have given his children a firm foundation, including:

• Run your family as the COEs: Chief Officers of Everything.

• Understand that you can never correct what you don’t confront.

• Lead by example, not by preaching: Hypocrisy and parenting are a destructive combination.

• Today’s fast-paced world can often make children feel small; your job is to help them feel large.

• Older children need more rules and parental involvement, not less.

Reaching an average weekly audience of 4.1 million viewers, Run’s House speaks to America’s fascination with high-profile parents. Take Back Your Family brings home the behind-the-scenes wisdom of hip-hop’s first family to everyone seeking solid guidance for raising a new generation.

About the Authors: Rev Run — aka Joseph Simmons — is one of the founding members of the major pioneering hip-hop group, Run-D.M.C. The group had an enormous impact on the development of hip hop through the 1980s and is credited with breaking hip hop into mainstream music. Born in Queens, NY, he is the younger brother of Def Jam Records founder, Russell Simmons. He is currently the star of the blockbuster MTV reality show Run’s House, MTV’s most popular show, now in its fifth season. He now spends the majority of his time spreading the good news through his Words of Wisdom and building the foundations of his family.

Justine Simmons wife to Rev Run — aka Joseph Simmons — and costar of Run’s House. She is also the designer of the Brown Sugar Jewelry Collection for Simmons Jewelry. They live in Saddle River, NJ, with the four youngest of their six children.