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Claire and Mia Fontaine  

Co-Authors of Come Back

When bright high school student Mia Fontaine trade school uniforms and afternoons at the beach for drugs and danger in rural Indiana, her mother Claire Fontaine set out on a gripping journey to save her daughter. Together, they co-authored Come Back: A Mother and Daughter’s Journey Through Hell and Back, a best-selling memoir that chronicles Mia’s drug-fueled descent into society’s underbelly and her remarkable healing process that led her from being a high school dropout and runaway to a graduate of Georgetown University.

In the same tradition as Come Back, Claire and Mia have recently co-authored Have Mother, Will Travel, which captures the changing relationship between a mid-life mother and her 20-something daughter. Set against the backdrop of an unforgettable round-the-world adventure, it explores their personal relationship, as well as the mother-daughter relationship in America and in other cultures from China to France.

Mia Fontaine is an author, writer, and motivational speaker whose past appearances include Good Morning America, The O’Reilly Factor, and The Montel Williams Show. She has spoken nationally about drug addiction and the long-term cost of child sexual abuse. With the debut of Have Mother, Will Travel, she will be giving talks about the mother-daughter relationship, both in terms of how to improve it, as well as exploring it from a cultural and historic perspective. In addition to the memoirs she’s co-authored, she has written for The New York Times and blogs for Ms. Magazine.

Claire Fontaine is a writer who has worked with numerous award-winning producers and directors. She is also a certified life coach and certified relationship coach who focuses on personal transformation, relationships, and parenting.

Claire and Mia Fontaine are a compelling and dynamic team whose joy, passion, and gratitude are infectious, leaving audiences inspired and awakened to the possibilities in their own lives. They speak together and individually.

Speech Topics


The Mother-Daughter Relationship

Claire and Mia’s story is a powerful portrayal of the unique, primal, and enigmatic bond between mother and daughter. As they share how their relationship, once shattered seemingly beyond repair, transformed into one closer than they ever imagined, audience members will gain insight into and a deeper appreciation of their own mother-daughter relationships. Whether audience members are best friends with their mothers or completely estranged, they’ll remember this talk long after leaving the room.

Come Back: From Tragedy to Triumph

Speaking to the possibility of transformation and personal growth, Mia chronicles her precarious refuge in the abyss of criminals and heroin addicts, the painful childhood trauma that caused her near self-destruction, and the remarkable healing process that followed. Claire tells of a parent’s worst nightmare: having to save three-year-old Mia first from an abusive father, then a decade later from herself as her daughter’s manipulative, drug-fueled behavior worsened and she repeatedly disappeared. Claire and Mia highlight the universally powerful lessons they learned during their journey to hell and back and leave attendees with a new awareness of what’s possible in their own lives.

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