Introducing a Love In A Big World Family Book Club
Dear Friends,
Stories help us dig into a topic that may otherwise seem too big, scary, or uncomfortable. Bruno Bettelheim (1976) states, “Just because his life is often bewildering to him, the child needs even more to be given the chance to understand himself in this complex world with which he must cope…He needs ideas on how to bring his inner house into order…” A great story can help bring order and open the heart and mind. An open heart and mind is ready for conversation…true dialogue about the thoughts and feelings evoked by story.
Siegel and Bryson, authors of The Whole Brain Child (2011), say, “When children learn to pay attention to and share their own stories, they can respond in healthy ways to everything from a scraped elbow to a major loss or trauma. What kids often need, especially when they experience strong emotions, is to have someone help them…make sense of what is going on…”
Sometimes before we can put our stories into words with another person, we can put them into a journal or onto a canvas. Maybe we can dance or sing our hearts out. Art helps us process big emotions.
When I first started Love In A Big World in 1996, my team and I used music as a method for connecting with students. As one principal said, “Music soothes the soul.” These kids found refuge, if even for a few moments, in the safe space we created through song.
In those early days of leading a new venture, I often consulted with my Dad. He was an entrepreneur and community advocate. Although he and Mom lived in Pittsburgh, he was just a phone call away, always open to my questions and wonderings.
In 2019, our family started to notice his mild cognitive decline. In 2021, he apologized at the dinner table because his “brain didn’t work the way it used to”. Today, he doesn’t recognize me. Alzheimer’s dementia took him, and our family has been left to process our grief.
With nearly 1 in 9 people aged 65 and older dealing with Alzheimer’s dementia, chances are that you and your family have been touched by the disease.
How do you process it? And how do you help your children?
We are starting something new…a Love In A Big World Family Book Club. Each month, we will recommend a book for you to share with the children in your life, a story to help you connect and process important ideas and big emotions.
This month’s story is one of my favorites: Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox, a story about a young boy’s friendship with an elderly woman who can’t remember.
Personally, I have been processing my loss by writing, painting, and singing. Art helps me make sense of what I’m thinking and feeling.
I wrote a song in honor of my dad called, My Superman. Stay tuned for more on that.
In the meantime, read the book and download the free lesson, which includes an art project and a journaling prompt. Find ways to care for the elderly in your community.
Together, let’s Love In A Big World.
Much love,
Tamara Fyke