Carolyn Hannan Bell contacted me asking me whether I’d review her books and feature them on here. To be honest I’m not one for regularly doing this kind of thing… however … I was attracted as the books are aimed at the children of alcoholics and I thought that more than worthy of a look.
Both books are essentially the same story tweaked to be appealing to the different genders – you could get into arguments about stereotyping here – surely many girls play computer games blah blah…. but I think it a good idea to have the option.
You see the world through the eyes of the child trying to understand why one of their parents seemingly doesn’t love them enough to stay with them, to honour their promises to them etc.
The books are short only about 45 pages and with some nice large illustrations. The concepts introduced are difficult for any young child to grasp but that is the reality of alcoholic addiction anyway – be fair I still have many adults who say “Surely you could have one drink now and not have a problem”. However the issues of abandonment, the desire for drink being all consuming and overwhelming for the sufferer are all covered and more. Frankly really valuable books that I’m sure would help children with an alcoholic parent comes to terms with some of their issues when used sensitively with a caring adult to discuss the issues and how they relate to the story and character in the book.
I heartedly endorse them and hope they do help some kids through a traumatic time.
For more info go to Carolyn’s site – www.alcoholismhurtskids.com
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