Thank you for visiting my website. I am writing a children’s book called “A Grandfamily for Sullivan.” It is about a young koala who is feeling scared and angry when he suddenly has to live with his Grandma. Sullivan is uncertain why his life changed so quickly and he needs to find out! He doesn’t know how to cope with his fears so he gets angry instead. After an argument with Grandma he meets a wise friend, who teaches him how to accept his feelings by looking up to the soothing sky.
The purpose of this story is to help children cope with their life circumstances when they can no longer live with their parents due to safety issues. The number of children who are being raised by their relatives is skyrocketing. This happens for a number of reasons such as, mental health issues, addiction, incarceration and death. Often, Grandparent’s step in to help raise the children when the biological parents are not able to provide the care their children need. As a psychotherapist with children and families in the child welfare system I needed this book. That is what inspired me to write it. There are very few books on this topic. Sullivan’s story will help children and adults in this challenging situation to feel understood, recognized, and acknowledged. I am also writing this story to help grandparents feel less isolated on this journey. Reading this book to a child can provide comfort in a time of uncertainty, fear and anger. That is my hope.
I plan to continue writing more children’s books, and I already have several ideas to make Sullivan’s experiences into a series.
Please follow along with me and see what we can learn!