Why? by Melissa Heath

Why? by Melissa Heath

Asensitive picture book to help parents and counselors communicate with young children about a parents suicide.

This groundbreaking picture book provides some possible answers to the question of why someone, especially a parent, might choose death over life

Losing a loved one is never easy, but when that loved one dies by suicide, most youngsters will have many questions but be provided with few answers. Often, so much stigma and secrecy surround this type of loss that children are further traumatized when adults fail to discuss what happened. Oliver is confused about why his father is no longer living. His mother tries to comfort him, reassuring Oliver that his father loved him and that neither of them are to blame for his death. Oliver’s mother explains that his father was “overwhelmed by a deep dark sadness” and chose to end his life “to get away from the sad, scary, and dark feelings,” language that effectively depicts depression and demystifies the mental health challenges that led to his death. The illustrations contain several luminous double-page spreads that convey the deep sense of loss experienced by those left behind as well as what it might feel like to be “stuck in deep dark sadness.” The contrast between those dark pages and the growing lightness surrounding Oliver and his mother as they process their loss is striking. Oliver is biracial; his father is pictured with light skin and curly brown hair and his mother with darker skin and hair.

A helpful how-to guide for difficult but necessary conversations. (reader’s note, for more information, reference) (Picture book. 6-9)

-- Kirkus Reviews

Melissa Allen Heath, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Counseling Psychology and Special Education at Brigham Young University. Her primary research interest is crisis prevention and intervention in the school setting. She is a licensed psychologist and a nationally and state-certified school psychologist. In addition to serving on school crisis teams, district crisis teams, and community crisis teams, she also received crisis training through Red Cross Disaster Mental Health and Community Emergency Preparedness Training (CERT). Over the past 10 years, she has worked with schools and communities in developing basic training materials for crisis intervention.

Dawn Sheen is currently a master's student in school psychology at Brigham Young University. Prior to graduate school, she was a middle school teacher specializing in multicultural awareness and French and Spanish language instruction. Her previous experience with crisis intervention includes managing a women's shelter for those affected by domestic violence and assisting with a community rape crisis hotline. Recognizing the need for student involvement with disaster preparedness, she sponsored an after-school Masters of Disaster class taught in conjunction with the Red Cross. Her research interests include crisis prevention and intervention as well as multicultural issues in school settings.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781433841965
ISBN 10	1433841967
Title	Why?
Author	Melissa Allen Heath
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	American Psychological Association
Year published	2023-09-05
Number of pages	32
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable