Meet Jennifer Gay Summers of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Gay Summers.

Hi Jennifer, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My story starts in Pacific Palisades, where I was raised by a successful screenwriter, John Gay, and his actress wife, Barbara. Although I loved to write as a child, I didn’t follow in my father’s footsteps until many years later. I became an actress, then went on to teach both public high school and adult school for 13 years.

My husband and I met later in life, and after six years of trying to become parents, we were chosen through an adoption. I was 44 years old when we welcomed a fiery, redheaded baby, Lee, (pseudonym) into our lives. Leaving behind my teaching job in downtown L.A., I devoted myself to being a mom. When Lee turned four, I discovered a writing workshop and fell in love with what I felt I was destined to do all along.

The Santa Barbara Writers Conference was a wonderful, supportive community where I was given encouragement to publish my first essays. To this day, I value my writing mentors there and friendships I’ve made over the years. I began my career as a journalist, with news briefs for Whole Life Times magazine. From there, I branched into essays, contributing to Chicken Soup for the Soul and Conscious Women, Conscious Mothers anthologies.

During this time, I co-wrote with my father his memoir, Any Way I Can; 50 Years in Show Business, (Bear Manor Media, 2009.) I will always treasure the time spent writing with him. Even though he has passed away, his inspiration lives on inside of me, guiding my words.

Along the way, I wrote essays about my lively, spirited baby for various magazines. But my true passion for writing emerged when my neurodivergent child was diagnosed with ADHD. When Lee was in middle school, I found the time and courage to share, with Lee’s permission, our day-to-day struggles and joys.

My blog, “Mom’s the Word,” ran for almost a decade in ADDitude magazine, the national magazine for the ADHD community. When the pandemic took its toll, the mental health crisis worsened for children and teens in this country, and I knew it was time to turn my blog into a memoir. I’m thrilled it will be published by She Writes Press in October 2026.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As much as I enjoyed my acting and teaching careers, the road was never smooth. However, I was completely unprepared for the one I would walk in my motherhood journey. Raising a child with ADHD and other mental health challenges, during a time before the Internet provided us with many connections and resources, was isolating and difficult.

As a mother, I had to learn to let go of denial and accept that my child had ADHD so that I could find help. But it wasn’t until I attended the conference hosted by CHADD, the national organization for people with ADHD, that I learned to become an advocate. Their support, education, and resources transformed my parenting and gave me the tools I needed to help my child. Most important, they gave me hope. I now share those tools—and many others—on my website, social media, and newsletters to help other struggling parents.

Once I let go of my traditional motherhood expectations of having a typical child, I grew in wisdom and compassion. That, I believe, was my child’s greatest gift.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My different career paths have merged into my role now as an advocate, author, and mom. Recently, I’ve been a contributor to L.A. Parent magazine with two articles for the neurodivergent community. I’ve also had essays published in MER, (Mom Egg Review) and Dorothy Parker’s Ashes. I’m proud to have been a guest on three podcasts for parents raising complex children with ADHD.

The last five years I’ve spent focused on writing a memoir, based on my blogs for ADDitude magazine, chronicling my journey with Lee from birth through high school. With this memoir, it is my desire to raise awareness of ADHD and other mental health challenges, exploring what unites us, no matter the disability or the label.

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
One of the most important lessons my father passed down to me was resilience, a quality I’ve leaned on throughout the years in hard times. I used it as an actress with rejections, then as a teacher helping at-risk students. It has given me strength and courage as a writer to share my truth and not give up during my struggles. Even though it’s tough to face obstacles, I realize they’re an opportunity to grow.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jennifergaysummers.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennifergaysummers/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JenniferGaySummers

Image Credits
Jennifer Inman