CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. - s4story -- After nearly 30 years in finance and insurance, Dr. Elizabeth A. Carter has published a children's picture book about a lesson that took most of her career to learn: confidence comes not from approval, but from knowing your own worth. Liana Learns to Shine: A Lion Cub's Discovery of Self-Confidence is available now in hardcover.

The story follows Liana, a young lion cub inventor who struggles to feel proud without her father's approval. With the encouragement of her friends and the quiet wisdom of her grandmother, she discovers that her worth was always her own.

The book was sparked by a real conversation. Dr. Carter spent nearly fifty years wondering why her father never said the words she needed to hear. When she finally asked him, his answer changed everything — revealing that the silence she'd felt her whole life had never been indifference, but simply all he had known. That conversation became Liana.

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"For most of my career, I treated my own worth like a permission slip — something a title or the right person in the room had to sign," said Dr. Carter. "It took me decades to learn the signature was always mine to give. I wrote Liana so a child could learn it early, before they spend a career learning it the hard way."

Written for ages 6–8, Liana Learns to Shine explores self-confidence, resilience, and the healing that comes when families finally have the conversations they've feared. With a young Black girl lion cub inventor as its heroine, it also celebrates girls in STEM and friendship. Each copy includes a free downloadable Guide for Grown-Ups with conversation starters for families, classrooms, and counseling settings.

That little lion cub with the braids, the purple apron, and the big bright smile is Dr. Carter at age six — building things, hoping to be noticed, and learning that the most important approval was always her own.

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Liana Learns to Shine (hardcover, $29.99) is available now:

Dr. Carter also brings this message to organizations through her keynote, "Permission Not Required: How to Own Your Worth and Move with Confidence." Meeting planners can reach her at the contact below.

About the Author: Dr. Elizabeth A. Carter, PhD (known professionally as "Dr. E") is the CEO and Founder of AAPPEAL, LLC, a keynote speaker, and bestselling author with nearly 30 years of experience in finance and insurance. She founded the Elevate Your Value Summit and the Corporate Sisters Network, and hosts the Elevate Your Corporate Value with Dr. E podcast.