Who is This Book For?

*I wrote the following as an email to be sent out to the SoundsTrue audience, and I thought it was worth republishing here.*

Have you ever seen an invisible dragon? 
Neither had I. 
But one day last May, a giant one swooped in 
and landed on my head . . . 

I didn't see him coming. 
And once he was there, he would NOT go away. 

As the opening lines of my book suggest, we don't usually see grief coming. It arrives forcefully and without warning. It weighs us down. It casts a shadow over us. It can sit so heavily on our chests that it's hard to breathe.

That's how it felt for me after a sudden, heart-wrenching loss in 2015. It felt, in fact, like a giant, invisible dragon had swooped in and was now perching on my shoulders, with no intention of going anywhere.

As one of many avenues to help me cope, I turned to my notebook and began to write. And out of the ashes of that experience, my first children’s book was born—about a young boy who unexpectedly loses his mother and must learn how to live with his own invisible dragon.

My Big, Dumb, Invisible Dragon is not only for those who are actively grieving, however. My hope is that it will help all of us—children and adults alike—to see each other more clearly. That it will increase our understanding and empathy, and maybe inspire us to reach out to those who are weighed down by sorrow and loss.

While this book deals with heavy themes, the tender illustrations from Birgitta Sif will enchant children of all ages. As Publishers Weekly shared, the dragon is "not scary and ominous so much as big and present," and the story includes "dashes of humor and playfulness." Take a look inside with this book video reading.

I know this is a weighty topic for a summer day, but grief knows no season. If you or someone you care about is missing someone today, I see you. And if there's one thing I've learned, it's that even the heaviest dragons can feel lighter for a time when we realize we're not alone.

With love and light,

P.S. I invite you to download the My Big, Dumb, Invisible Dragon story time kit, which you can get for free by signing up for my email newsletter. It includes a draw-your-own-dragon exercise, grief guide for caregivers, coloring pages, and much more. You can also find out what I've named the dragon!