Raising an Emotionally Healthy Child When a Parent Is Sick (a Harvard Medical School Book)

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.

This book was purchased for a friend who's husband is very ill and their daughter is having a hard time coping. My friend has found alot of helpful information in the book and is using it as a reference to help both her and her daughter cope.

This book provides priceless information for parents. The book gives timely information on what/how to tell kids when their parents are sick. Highly recomended!

A good resource for a parent that has to deal with a serious illness, and is confused about how to talk to their children. It helps the parent to understand the fallout that occurs for the children in the family. I needed it for a specific research paper dealing with children accepting their parent's diagnosis of AIDS. It contained only one small section for this issue. This is a huge problem these days, and I think it required more space.

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.