There’s An Elephant In My Room...
A child’s unforgettable journey through cancer proved hope was stronger than fear.
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Katie could always count on her mom and dad to answer her questions and to say just the right thing to make her feel better. It was her parents’ job to make her feel safe and protected. Deep down, Katie knew the answers were going to be hard to hear. She already knew that cancer scared her parents as much at it scared her. She thought it was going to be hard for anyone to feel anything but frightened.
She could tell that everyone was thinking about Colleen, and fearful that the cancer could win the battle she was fighting. Because it was so hard for Katie and her friends to think about these questions, they couldn’t talk much about it. The worry was still there everyday, growing bigger, and harder to ignore. The “elephant” was on the school bus, at recess, in the classroom, in the pool, on the soccer field, and at home. The “elephant” was everywhere.
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About the Book
Nine year old Colleen’s very brave journey through cancer presented invaluable life lessons to those who watched from the sidelines.
This is a true story about an inspirational little girl who was, unbeknownst to her, teaching the rest of us life’s greatest lessons while facing her own mortality. It is for anyone who is trying to find one "good side effect" of cancer, amidst the unknown. This book is intended to be read with a child who is looking for a way to find hope, lessen the fear, and minimize “the elephant in the room" when dealing with a peer's cancer diagnosis.
About the Author
Faced with a new parenting challenge, and formidable subject matter, the first thing Jill did was to look for a book when her daughter’s third grade class was impacted by a cancer diagnosis. As a mother, active PTA member, and former social worker, she felt it was imperative that the students be armed with the best resources available in order to deal with the worst event they had ever encountered - Colleen’s cancer. It seemed the myriad of titles on the shelves all shied away from this subject. There was an elephant in the room. It was then that she realized she would write a real story, about a real child’s journey through cancer.
There’s An Elephant In My Room became her way to reflect and remember her daughter’s simple and pure reactions to a child’s cancer diagnosis and death. By writing about her daughter’s deepest fears, worries, expectations and realizations, she aims to offer readers a portal to frankness, acceptance, resolution, and ultimately, HOPE.