Additional information
by Jennifer L. Allen (Illustrator), L. M. F. T. A. T. R. -B C. Allen (Author)
Nothing has been the same since Noah's Daddy got cancer -except Cinnamon Roll Sunday. Every week, Noah and Daddy walk to the corner market and bring home fresh cinnamon rolls and the paper. They cuddle up on the couch and read the Sunday comics together while savoring each sweet bite. When Daddy's hair falls out, he and Mamma explain what is happening, answering the many questions popping up in Noah's mind. Noah worries Daddy will die. He imagines shredding the cancer to pieces. Noah stomps on his cinnamon roll in protest. Things aren't going the way they are supposed to At school, Noah's counselor encourages him to draw each of his mixed-up feelings. Noah shares with his best friend, Ben, that Daddy is too sick to coach their team. Grandma walks to the market with Noah that week. Things are changing fast. Cinnamon Roll Sunday tells the story of seven-year-old Noah as he copes and adapting to the many changes implicit to a loved-one's serous illness. The story spans from just after Daddy's cancer diagnosis until after his death, and is told with tenderness, playfulness, and in a voice of resiliency. What do you do when someone is very sick and might die? Anticipatory grief is a difficult issue to address as it counters the cultural taboo of talking about death with kids, especially if it might not happen or hasn't yet happened. Cinnamon Roll Sunday answers that question for children, and in doing so, breaks the taboo, and bridge this gap in the field of grief. Cinnamon Roll Sunday demonstrates through story how to cope with the uncertainty of illness in a family and how to have healthy, age-appropriate conversations about difficult subjects. Cinnamon Roll Sunday is intended to be read aloud by a parent, teacher, helper, or therapist to school-age children who have (had) a loved-one who is seriously ill. It acts as a springboard for healthy communication and a normalizes the many mixed up thoughts and feelings indicative of anticipatory grief.
Author Biography
Jennifer Allen, B.F.A., L.M.F.T., A.T.R.-B.C. is a licensed marriage and family therapist and board certified art therapist, author, and artist who works with children and adults, specializing in grief, anticipatory grief, and trauma. She integrates her professional and personal experience into this bittersweet story that helps parents, teachers, helpers, and professional therapists support children through this challenging time of uncertainty. For adults experiencing anticipatory grief, she has also published: Bone Knowing- A True Story of Coming to Life in the Face of Impending Loss Jennifer is also a facilitator of Bone Knowing art-process and grief tending workshops at Esalen and at her art yurt on California's central coast.
