Publisher's Synopsis
It's a conversation no one wants to have - you just found out someone you love is dying or needs hospice, and you don't have as much time as you'd hoped. How do you tell the kids? Where do you start?
Millions of families, when faced with a shortened life expectancy, struggle with how to talk to their kids about it. We don't want to take away their innocence or end their childhood. How do we have this conversation in a way that isn't devastating or super scary? We start by making it make sense, from a scientific point of view.
Join Mia and her stuffed giraffe Stuart as they explain how bodies work and what happens when important body parts aren't able to do their jobs anymore. What Happens When Someone I Love Can't Get Better uses bright and engaging illustrations to explain what keeps bodies alive and helps reduce confusion about why bodies die.
It covers important topics such as:
- how internal organs are supposed to function
- what happens when internal organs stop functioning properly
- the role of medicine and surgery in treatment
- what happens when medicine is no longer effective
- comfort care and hospice
- legacy building and memory keeping
...all using child-friendly terms that explain and normalize death.
Open, Honest, and Accessible: Kids can handle learning the truth about most any situation - as long as it's presented in a way that makes sense to them.
Validation of Feelings: By shining a light on big (and sometimes shameful) feelings, this book validates kids' feelings and experiences, reassuring them that their emotions are normal and encouraging them to share with a trusted grown-up, in addition to providing suggestions for coping.
Resource for Caregivers: When there's no resource to make hard conversations easier, grown-ups are far less likely to have them. This book aims to empower adults and kids with knowledge, which is proven to help kids through traumatic situations.
Therapeutic and Educational Tool: What Happens When Someone I Love Can't Get Better is a go-to book in hospitals, schools, counseling settings, and support groups. There are no references to God or the afterlife, leaving room for families to have discussions based on their own belief system.
