‘Jimmy, eat your oatmeal, it’ll stick to your ribs.’ I recall as a boy feeling around my rib cage after eating my oatmeal and wondering if it took a trip other foods didn’t. Maybe oatmeal really did hang out down there.

The advice of our mothers. Maybe we don’t always understand it as children (how does my failure to clean my plate affect the starving children in Africa?), but it carries a message of love and concern that reaches far beyond words. In his reflective style, bestselling author James Michael Pratt reminds us of the timeless wisdom of our mothers and offer tribute to the unsung heroines who have made the world go round. As he acknowledges, ‘Oatmeal might not really stick to ribs, but I never, ever eat it without hearing Mom’s voice. It wasn’t just oatmeal that stuck to this boy, though. It was the time-tested values that gave real warmth and protection, like a shield against the punches, life’s knockout blows to the ribcage. Obeying Mom on eating the hot cereal was assuring myself that I could succeed.’