It's no secret that families today are struggling. Pulled in a dozen different directions daily by jobs, schooling and extra-curricular activites, parents and kids often feel disconnected from each other, and the distance can produce devastating effects.

Brad Mathias, author of the new book, Road Trip to Redemption (Tyndale, June 2013), understands this all too well. He thought everything in his family was fine. A busy, contented dad, he had vaguely noticed that Bethany, his middle child, had become withdrawn and moody, but he assumed it was part of being a "teen" and didn't look any deeper.

Until the night God spoke clearly to Brad and his wife Paige: Ask Bethany to reveal what she has hidden.

They did - and learned the secret that Bethany had been carrying, one that rocked their family to the core. In a desperate attempt to reach their daughter and to reconnect as a family, Brad and Paige piled everyone into the car and embarked on a wild, crazy, seven-thousand-mile, what-are-we-thinking trip across the country. As they drove, they realized how far apart they'd drifted, found unexpected blessings along the way - and journeyed together from pain and loss to recovery and redemption.

"My goal is to help parents look beyond the external symptoms of their children's behavior to the heart level," comments Mathias. "Through my story, I hope parents will see their kids as they are: multidimensional, unique individuals who need love and attention, or, simply put, our time. We need to see the difference between kids who appear to be okay and pay lip service to Christianity and those who are genuinely being drawn into their faith by a growing understanding of the overwhelming love God has for them.

"I hope others can get a glimpse of what it means to be an authentic parent, even when their past choices - like mine - have not made them the perfect role models. We can't be asleep at the wheel when it comes to our kids."

Brad Mathias is available for national interviews to promote the June 2013 release of Road Trip to Redemption. Contact Brian Mayes at brian@nashvillepublicity.com or (615) 771-2040 to schedule an interview, obtain an excerpt of the book, or to learn more.