Parents going through chemo often struggle to explain their alopecia (hair loss) to their young children. The rhyming verse in Nowhere Hair offers a healing conversation-starter that is both whimsical and profound.
Sue Glader's book for children ages 3-7 years old presents a simple story about a young girl who is trying to find out what happened to her mother's curly hair. Supported by wonderfully whimsical water-color illustrations by Edith Buenen, Glader succeeds at offering parent's a simple way to explain the unwanted change in appearance:
The day I asked her where it went
she had a simple answer.
"I'm bald because of medicine
I take to cure my cancer."
Like the hair on a parent's head, the storyline caps Glader's efforts to ease the way into more complex and emotionally charged issues, such as a parent's moodiness and low energy as well as the non-contagious nature of cancer and the fears this illness stirs.
We don't get to the park as much.
Mom likes the couch a lot.
Still even when she kisses me,
I can't catch what she's got.
Bravo! And thank you, Sue, for adding this tool for parents who want to help their children cope with this difficult change in healthy, hopeful ways.
To order or read a preview, click here.
My nieces had been told I was bald from chemo but the first time they saw my bald noggin, when I took my hat off to cool down during a hot flash, they had very different reactions. The 5-year-old was disturbed and said "Auntie Finn, put your hat back on." But the 2-year-old thought it was the funniest thing she'd ever seen and laughed like it was a joke I played just to be funny. She immediately started calling me "Auntie David" because baldness made me look just like my brother. This got them both laughing so my older niece was no longer upset by my baldness.
Posted by: Finn | December 10, 2012 at 07:45 PM
Dear Finn,
Wonderful story! Thanks for sharing here. With hope, Wendy
Posted by: Wendy S. Harpham, MD | December 10, 2012 at 07:57 PM