When a Brave Bear Fights Cancer: A get well soon gift by Carola Schmidt

 

Life is full of ups and downs.

While the ‘ups’ make us happy as can be.

What do we do when we are ‘down’?

Cancer is one of the most dreaded diseases on the planet and is caused by changes to genes that control the way our cells function, especially how they grow and divide.

It doesn’t look at the age of the person and affects both old and very young alike.

What do we do when Cancer afflicts a child? How do we even begin to explain and reassure a child about this dreaded disease when even we don’t understand the complexity of it?

When a Brave Bear Fights Cancer: A Get Well Soon Gift  is written by Carola Schmidt and beautifully photographed by Mark O’Dwyer . Featuring our favourite teddy bear’s from the ‘Mawson’ series  the book reassures and soothes while being gently informative.

Carola’s experience as a pediatric oncology pharmacist, make her empathetic to a child’s fears about being sick. This reflects in the way she starts off the book with a question that tackles how they feel.

“What do you do when you feel overwhelmed with doubts and bad news?”

The answer is one of reassurance, hold the hand of a loved one and go with them to search for answers to get better.

The book explains in simple words the entire process of  cancer diagnosis from visiting the doctor, getting tests done to the prescribed treatment.

Carola and Mark have decoded the complex process of cancer and explained the disease and treatment in a straightforward and uncomplicated way. Symbiotically using both text and visuals they not only breakdown what cancer is but also gently explain how each treatment is custom made.

It also gradually takes them through each treatment option while explaining what it does from surgery, chemotherapy, radiation to immunotherapy.

The high-point of the book for me is the heartfelt emotion that pours out from the words and the images. The book is jam packed with messages of love that drip from each page. From messages of reassurance that you are not alone in this, to one’s of care that each one of us is special and unique, to one’s of love, love and love.

It also goes on to reassure by answering the one question that haunts not just kids with cancer but anybody suffering from it. That cancer can affect anybody and is in no way their fault.

The book ends with hope, that good moments will come again soon .What we need to tide over everything is love and big bear hugs.

 As someone who has cared for a loved one with cancer I would recommend that this book is a must read for both children and adults who have or know people who have cancer.  In fact the life lessons in this book make it ideal for teaching kids about empathy and love.

Happy Reading☺