6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
outstanding guide for how to help a child, January 25, 2006
This review is from: Raising an Emotionally Healthy Child When a Parent is Sick (A Harvard Medical School Book) (Paperback)
I am an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and had the joy of having Paula Rauch as a supervisor when I was learning child psychiatry. She is so talented at supporting families and children who can be overwhelmed when a parent that is sick. Anna Muriel and Paula Rauch provide a sensitive, accessible, touching and practical book for clinicians to recommend to their patients, for families and for those of us who are looking for comfort.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Renewed my hope! I love it!!, June 25, 2011
This review is from: Raising an Emotionally Healthy Child When a Parent is Sick (A Harvard Medical School Book) (Paperback)
I'm just half way through this book, which I purchased half-heartedly, expecting it to only inform me of things I already knew! But already I've learnt so many practical steps to help my children cope with my degenerative illness. After my husband passed away and then I learnt I had an incurable disease, my world was shattered and I've felt so hopeless watching the effect on our children as I go in and out of hospital. I felt overwhelmed with the responsibility to help them deal with their emotions as I'm struggling to deal with my own. It's such a wonderful help to be able to learn from other's experiences, particularly that of parents who went through what I'm going through, mixed with the view of professionals, which adds weight to the advice given. Already we are experiencing the benefits from this little book, and have drawn closer together as a family and are becoming better at communicating our feelings rather than them coming out in extreme behaviour. Just the fact that this book gives me comfort hearing that others know exactly how frustrated I feel makes my load easier to bare! I would definitely recommend this book to anyone trying to cope with an illness whether it be terminal or not, whilst trying to know how much to tell children and at what age, whether they be your children or grandchildren or just nephews, nieces or even close friends! It is well worth the money!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Amazing Resource, September 30, 2009
My husband was recently diagnosed with stage 3 cancer and is being treated at Mass General where the author, Dr. Paula Rauch works. Within the first week of diagnosis, a friend put me in touch with the author, and the organization she founded called "Parenting at a Challenging Time" (PACT).
Having her, and her book as a resource for ALL my questions on how to talk to my daughter, how to handle the school and how to talk about cancer was so invaluable, especially the first overwhelming months.
Friends have been great, but they don't know what to say when I'm not sure about whether I should let my daughter have a mental health day from school. Dr. Paula has seen it all before and has such an easy way of explaining herself and has so many of the answers I am looking for. The book has an easy to read style.
Early on, Dr. Paula explained to me the name of her organization, "Parenting at a Challenging Time". I thought it was kind of a mouthful! She explained: it's her goal to get to families/kids early in the illness to give them emotional support and understanding. She told me why this was SO crucial.
She feels that helping kids/families go through this experience as if they are on bumpy road, and each time a big bump is there, there are people or coping skills, or hugs to get them through so they can continue down the path, emotionally healthy. She feels if kids do not get that support right away, that the experience becomes what she calls, a traumatic one; one that causes the child to turn inward, and one where they learn no coping skills and do not continue on an emotionally healthy track.
I think what Dr. Paula is trying to do w/PACT and with this book is to have kids get through this with support so that the next time a challenging time comes their way (and it will!) they have had a successful experience coping and receiving support and be able to have confidence in their ability to manage and get through it.
This book is so important to get in the hands of families at the beginning of diagnosis so that this challenging time can avoid being turned into a traumatic time.
It's been 6 months now, and my husband's prognosis is good, but we are still struggling through the treatments and one more surgery to come. I still reference this book as my 10 year old goes through the different stages of adjusting to having a sick parent.
I am SOOOO grateful that we read this book and met her early in the process, I feel so supported and can feel rest assured that my daughter is learning the tough lessons of coping during a challenging time.
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