Books
A Booklet for Young People (April 1998)
Assists young people in understanding and dealing with the changes that they might be experiencing
due to living with someone who has ALS or knowing someone with ALS. To purchase this booklet, contact
the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Society of Canada, 6 Adelaide St. East, Ste. 220, Toronto, Ontario,
Canada M5C 1H6, phone (416) 362-0269 or (800) 267-4ALS.
A Child’s View of Grief: A Guide for Caring Adults
by Alan Wolfelt, Director of the Center for Loss and Life Transition
This practical guide is for adults who wish to assist bereaved children. It presents fifteen teaching
principles titled, “What Bereaved Children Want Adults to Know About Grief.” There
is also a special section on Adolescent Mourning. Available through Amazon.com, bookstores and other
retail Internet sites.
A Leader’s Guide to The Struggle To Be Strong: How to Foster Resilience in Teens
by Sybil Wolin, Al Desetta and Keith Hefner
This guide provides specific practical suggestions for using the stories in The Strugggle to be
Strong (listed below) to inspire teens to persist in the face of challenges. Additionally, this
guide explains the concept of resilience and its component parts. To obtain a copy of this book contact
Project Resilience Suite 113, 5410 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20015, phone (202) 968-8171,
fax (202) 966-7587, email: info@projectresilience.com.
Parenting Well When You’re Depressed: A Complete Resource for Maintaining a Healthy Family
by Joanne Nicholson, Alexis D. Henry, Jonathan C. Clayfield, Susan M. Phillips
Parents with depression may feel depleted by the burden of coping with their disorder and unprepared for
the challenge of providing a healthy environment for their children. This guide, based on more than ten
years of study of parents with depression and their families, offers strategies, action plans, and
resources to help these parents provide for their children’s healthy development.
Children of Parents with Mental Illness
by children, parents and service providers; edited by Vicki Cowling
This book examines a wide range of psychological disorders. Case studies and several comprehensive
reference lists are provided as a means to analyze a parent’s ability to function in the role
of caregiver and the impact their illness has on their child. Available in bookstores, through Amazon.com,
from other retail Internet sites and from the Australian Council for Educational Research, Ltd., 19
Prospect Hill Road, Camberwell, Melbourne, Victoria, 3124, fax (416) 362-0414, email:
alssoc@inforamp.net.
How Can I Tell You?
Explores the complex issues related to secrecy and disclosure of an HIV diagnosis to children
and other family members. Families and providers share their insights and experiences and describe the
process and decision making that accompanies the journey from secrecy to disclosure. This book is
available from The Institute for Family-Centered Care.
How to Help Children Through a Parent’s Serious Illness
by Kathleen McCue, a Child Life Specialist
This practical handbook provides supportive advice for parents to address children’s fears and
questions about a parent’s illness. Available in bookstores and retail internet sites.
It Won’t Last Forever A Child’s Book About Living with a Depressed Parent
by Doris Sanford
For children ages 5 through 10, this book shows how a young girl handles everyday life when her mother is
depressed. Available in bookstores and retail internet sites.
Madness and Loss of Motherhood: Sexuality, Reproduction, and Long-Term Mental Illness
by Roberta Apfel and Maryellen Handel
This book provides comprehensive information about the clinical needs of parents with mental illness, along
with clinical case material and guidelines for care. Available through retail outlets or through the American
Psychiatric Press.
Making Connections: Building Family Support Networks for Families Living with HIV
A how-to manual for families and providers building family-to-family support networks in their communities.
Includes many examples from successful family-to-family support networks. This book is available from the
Institute for Family-Centered Care.
Once Upon a Hopeful Night
by Risa Sachs Yaffe
Assists families in supporting and comforting their children through a parent’s cancer experience.
This publication was recently published by Oncology Nursing Press. Its author is a cancer survivor. Available
in bookstores, from retail Internet sites, and from the publisher.
Opening and Closing Pandora’s Box:Discussing Sensitive Topics with Children
and their Families
A manual for child and adolescent health care providers that identifies problems, offers support, and
provides information on referring patients to appropriate services. To obtain a copy of this manual
contact the Children of Alcoholics Foundation, 33 W. 60th Street, 5th floor, New York, NY 10023, phone
(212) 757-2100, ext. 6370.
Parental Psychiatric Disorder: Distressed Parents and Their Families
by various authors; edited by Michael Gopfret, Jeni Webster, and Mary Seman
A collection of articles for providers and policy makers about the issues of families in which parents
have mental illness, and the organization and implementation of services and supports essential to enhancing
their well being. This book is available through Cambridge University Press, retail internet sites and
bookstores.
Please Don’t Cry, Mom
by Helen Denboer
For children age 6 through 12, this book explains a parent’s depression, how family members deal
with it, and how to get help. Available through Amazon.com.
The Struggle to Be Strong: True Stories By Teens About Overcoming Tough Times
by teens; edited by Al Desetta and Sybil Wolin
This compilation of true stories for teens is meant to be used in education treatment and prevention
settings. The stories are organized in chapters based on seven specific strengths or resiliencies (insight,
independence, relationships, initiative, creativity, humor and morality) identified in people who have
successfully struggled against the negative effects of hardship. To obtain a copy of this book contact
Project Resilience, Suite 113, 5410 Connecticut Avenue,
NW, Washington, D.C. 20015, phone (202) 968-8171, fax (202) 966-7587, email:
info@projectresilience.com.
Troubled Journey: Coming to Terms with the Mental Illness of a Sibling or Parent
by Diane T. Marsh, MD, and Rex M. Dickens
Explores the nature of mental illness—especially schizophrenia, major depression, and manic
depression—and provides family members with tools for coping with mental illness in their lives.
This book is available at Barnes & Noble, through retail Internet sites, and Penguin publishing.
What Happened to Mommy?
by Renee Fran
The author guides the child reader, whose parent has depression, in dealing with self-blame, and the process
of getting help and recovery. Additional resources are provided. Available through Barnes & Nobles as
well as other retail book stores.
When a Parent Has Cancer: A Guide to Caring for Your Children
by Wendy Schlessel Harpham
This guide provides perspectives from a well spouse and an ill spouse on how to help a child understand
and come to terms with a parent who is diagnosed with cancer. It is available in bookstores or through
Harper Collins Publishers.
Wish Upon A Star: A Story for Children with a Parent Who is Mentally Ill
by Pamela Lashkin and Addie Moskowitz
The authors of this book, targeted to children age 5 through 7, discuss mental illness and hospitalization,
and write about building a support system for a child and parent. Available in bookstores.