by jphilo | Aug 17, 2015 | Book Updates
The advance copies of my newest baby book, Does My Child Have PTSD? What to Do When Your Child Is Hurting from the Inside Out have arrived. As you can tell from the picture, meeting this 9″ X 6″, 186 page, soft-covered beauty made me very, very happy.
But I feel a little guilty about its arrival, too. Since it’s the third baby book to arrive in less than a year, the poor little tyke didn’t receive the undivided attention my firstborn book did. Truth be told, the box sat on the dining room table for three days before I got around to opening it. Then it received only a cursory once over and didn’t have an in-the-box picture taken for two more days.
I keep meaning to do a happy dance, but taking care of the other four kids blogging about and marketing my other four books keeps distracting me. And to add insult to injury, this baby can’t go out in public for two more months the official release date won’t arrive for two more months, though it can be pre-ordered on Amazon now.
In addition to feeling guilty about the lack of attention the new baby book has received, I’m consumed by worry. Because, as the book makes clear, neglect can be very traumatic for children. So I’m not even practicing what I preach to other parents.
Therefore, I am taking steps to rectify the situation. Step one is to make regular eye contact with the baby book, so it learns to trust its mother author.
Step two will be to sit down with the baby book on my lap and read it from cover to cover as soon as time allows. Because as I also learned during my pregnancy during my researching and writing, babies and very young children who have experienced trauma can experience great healing when they have a loving and consistent primary caregiver to provide security and reassurance.
Which means that in the next few months, given a choice between spending time with our three grandchildren, all under the age of three, and reading or marketing my latest bouncing baby book, I’ll choose the grandkids every single time.
by jphilo | Mar 23, 2015 | Book Updates
Can it possibly be that Jane last made an appearance along this gravel road in July of last year? Yes, sorry to say, it’s been that long. And since that post’s report of on the sad lack of progress of the mystery novel bearing her name, Jane and her cast of characters has been almost completely neglected.
Poor Jane. Poor, poor Jane.
Mind, you the reasons for this shameful neglect are all good ones. First, I had to research and write a book about PTSD in children to meet the publishers November 30, 2014 deadline. A week later a month long Camp Dorothy commenced, and I was too busy keeping track of Vanna White and Judge Judy to write much. No sooner did that end, than our second grandchild was born and Mom moved into assisted living. Oh, and did I mention that The Caregiver’s Notebook released on November 1, 2014?
Poor Jane. Poor, neglected Jane.
To add insult to injury, all my time since 2015 began has been spent going to see the grandkids and completing edits on Every Child Welcome, along with a B-I-G rewrite of the PTSD book. That book, by the way, has finally been named Does My Child Have PTSD? What to Do When Your Child Is Hurting from the Inside Outs.
Poor Jane. Poor, traumatized Jane.
Because, as Does My Child Have PTSD? makes very clear, neglect over a long period of time can cause PTSD in children, especially babies. And Jane is most certainly my baby, even though she’s a young, independent woman living in the wilds of South Dakota. And my baby will most likely remain sadly neglected for at least 2 more months, maybe 3…until the final edits of the PTSD book are done, my daughter’s baby is born, and my spring speaking schedule clears up.
Poor Jolene Jane. Poor, poor Jolene Jane.
She misses her imaginary romps in northwest South Dakota and writing school teacher detective scenes where glitter becomes the ultimate weapon. She misses writing about nasty weather on the big prairie without having to experience it first hand. So to give Jolene Jane and anyone else who misses the short grass prairie a taste of what they’re missing, here’s a clip from KOTA news in Rapid City offers a taste of life out west. Complete with heat, indoor plumbing, and two of the strongest Harding County women I’ve had the pleasure to meet.
Just wait, Jane. Wait, Jane, wait!
by jphilo | Mar 2, 2015 | Book Updates
Since the beginning of December, I feel like I’ve been juggling knives.
Sharp knives.
Recently honed to a razor’s edge.
And all because I was plunked into the role of primary caregiver for the first time in a long time.
Though I was caring for an aging parent–first in our home, then transitioning her to assisted living, and now advocating for her with insurance companies, with a little break thrown in caring for a toddler grandchild when a new baby came along–the experience was a reminder of what parents of kids with special needs live with day by day.
Parents of kids with special needs are constantly juggling knives that
gouge finances,
skewer free time,
turn any attempts into creating a routine into chopped liver,
and shred caregiving paperwork into teeny, tiny bits.
A New Caregiver’s Notebook Give Away
My caregiving duties are easing up, but if you’re the parent of a child with special needs or caring for an aging parent, your duties are as demanding as ever. That’s why Different Dream is giving away a copy my The Caregiver’s Notebook. Why? Because the notebook I filled out for Mom was a way to sheath the mess of knives I was juggling. And it sheathed them better than I ever imagined it would while writing the notebook. Especially after my Caregiver’s Notebook epic fail, which tells the story of why I now carry Mom’s copy with me to e-v-e-r-y appointment she has.
To enter the contest, visit Gravel Road’s sister site, DifferentDream.com.
by jphilo | Feb 9, 2015 | Book Updates
Do you remember a blog announcement way back in July of 2013 about Every Child Welcome, the book Katie Wetherbee and I were writing about special needs ministry? The one about Kregel Publications offering us a contract? Well, we are happy to announce that Kregel is releasing the book on April 27, 2015.
The Skinny on Every Child Welcome
So here’s the pre-publication skinny on what’s happening behind the scenes:
- Katie and I first met in 2010 at a special needs ministry conference in Des Moines, IA. Little did we know that first meeting would lead to co-authoring a book.
- The book has a new and improved subtitle…drum roll please…Every Child Welcome: A Ministry Handbook for Including Kids with Special Needs
- Even thought Katie and I just sent the final, final proofs to the editor this past Friday, February 6, 2015…
- …Every Child Welcome is already available for pre-order on Amazon
- Also, here’s a slightly blurry clip from Kregel’s spring catalog describing some of the book’s features in case the type in the pictures above is a little too small to see.
The rest of this post can be read at Gravel Road’s sister site, DifferentDream.com.
by jphilo | Oct 20, 2014 | Book Updates
Yes, The Caregiver’s Notebook has arrived here on the gravel road. The official release date is November 1, 2014, but this post gives a sneak peek at what’s inside. You’ll see why the notebook can be used by parents of kids with special needs, adult children caring for aging parents, and those caring for adults with disabilities or special needs. Even healthy adults like the Man of Steel and I are compiling our own notebooks, so our affairs are in order just in case something happens to one of us.
Sound good? Then here’s a look inside the notebook. If you read to the very end, you’ll also learn how to enter the give away for a free copy.
The Inside Scoop on The Caregiver’s Notebook
The tour begins with a close up of the front cover.
Next, the table of contents…there’s a corresponding tab for each section.
Each section begins with a excerpt from caregiver’s devotionals by Discovery House Publisher authors Shelly Beach, Wendy Wallace, or me. The one pictured below is by Wendy.
Tabbed pages make it easy to flip to the different sections…
…followed by instructions on how to use each section.
Every section contains forms that make collecting and recording your loved one’s information as easy as possible. This form is for emergency information.
Some how-to sections also have completed sample pages to you can see exactly how to fill them out.
The notebook has a blank three year calendar for caregivers to fill in and use to keep track of a loved one’s appointments and activities. Each monthly two page spread has room for notes on the side, too.
At the end of the notebook there’s a pocket page where you can tuck all the business cards, information sheets, and test results received at your loved one’s appointment. That way you can find and file them once you’re back home.
Finally, because it’s hard for the back cover to watch the front cover get all the attention, here’s a lovely shot of the lowly backside.
The Caregiver’s Notebook Give Away
If you like what’s inside The Caregiver’s Notebook, you’re invited enter a drawing to win a free copy. Just leave a comment in the box below about how you will use the notebook. The contest ends at midnight on October 31, 2014, so leave your comment before then. The winner will be chosen and contacted on November 1.
by jphilo | Aug 18, 2014 | Book Updates
The November 1, 2014 release date for The Caregiver’s Notebook is getting closer by the day. I’m getting so excited about introducing you to this new baby which has been gestating for almost a year. Today you get the publishing industry’s equivalent of an ultrasound image of a yet-to-be-born-baby. It’s a prepublication interview that ran on the More To Life (MTL) blog not too long ago. If you’re excited about the arrival of this sweet thing, you’re invited to leave a comment in the box below!
How would you describe your writing in general to someone who hasn’t read any of your books?
My books provide spiritual encouragement and practical resources for caregivers.
What inspired you to write The Caregiver’s Notebook: An Organizational Tool and Support to Help You Care for Others?
I flirted with the idea off and on after receiving feedback from readers about the Different Dream books I’d written for parents of kids with special needs. Then, the Discovery House Publishers (DHP) editor of the second book emailed. She said several of her colleagues were caring for elderly parents or ill spouses. They’d been talking about how helpful it would be to have a spiritually-oriented notebook to organize vital information they could take to appointments and leave with others who sometimes cared for their loved ones. The idea intrigued her. So she emailed to ask if I would consider writing a proposal for such a notebook. I jumped at the chance!
How would you describe this book to someone in a 30 second blurb?
The Caregiver’s Notebook is a portable planner/organizer for those caring for children with special needs, adults with disabilities, and aging parents. It can also be used by healthy adults to organize their medical, insurance, and legal information. It’s small enough to take to appointments and detailed enough to passed between all the caregivers working with a loved one. The notebook also offers devotional excerpts, prayer guides, and a Bible reading plan to meet the spiritual needs of caregivers.
The rest of this interview can be found at MLTMagazine.com.
