Dear Friend,
Many people have asked me how Iris the Dragon became a reality. How a small idea grew into such a large project that has touched so many people’s lives? I feel it was due to the ripple effect. The ability of a small stone thrown in a large body of water starts vibrations that can be felt all over the world.
Let me tell you my story. Eight years ago my son became ill with schizoaffective disorder. He was 18 at the time and just finishing his first year at university. The illness was new to us and while we sought answers and understanding of the illness, we felt very isolated because we found so little support in the community. The reason for this soon became apparent to me. People were still very much afraid of the words and connotation that mental illness brings to mind. Yet one in five children suffer from a mental illness.
The World Health Organization stated in 2001 that the main obstacle to addressing and identifying mental illness in children was the stigma that it still has. If this is the case, how do we change that stigma or image? I had an idea that an illustrated children’s book written in a fairy tale format might be a medium that would encourage parents and caregivers of these children to look at the illness in a new light. Consequently, I wrote “Catch a Falling Star- a tale from the Iris the Dragon Series”. Children need a language to express their feelings and Iris the Dragon teaches it to them through her gentle understanding character.
Books provide a wonderful venue to touch many of our senses; sight, hearing, smell and touch. Children who suffer from a mental illness have a distortion of their senses and therefore view the world from a different perspective. I believe reading books to children will help them understand that they may have an illness but that there are solutions. And therefore hope.
The book has been a journey for me in learning about the illness but in addition it has shown me the incredible power of the ripple effect. Unable to find a publisher who would deal with such a topic, I was encouraged to self publish. Once that decision was made, we discovered that there are many amazing people ready to come to our aid. In addition to my incredibly supportive and knowledgeable husband, a committee of well know doctors, lawyers and politicians directed me through the stages of publication – sponsorship, incorporation, validity of information etc. Over the course of two years, I learned first hand the intricacies of the publishing world.
In May 2001 “Catch a Falling Star- a tale from the Iris the Dragon Series” rolled off the press. What an exciting moment! But the best was yet to come. We had no idea how the book would be accepted and reviewed by the people that counted. We did not have long to wait. Several organizations dealing in mental illness came forward and gave us excellent reviews and book awards. We received acknowledgements from NAMI (National Alliance for Mental Illness), Anxiety Disorders of America, Curriculum Services of Canada, Canadian Children’s Book Centre – “Our Choice Award” and many more. However, the most satisfying and moving was the personal letters and emails that I received from mothers and caregivers of children who suffered from a mental illness.
As I did my own mailing, the orders would come directly to my house. What a thrill to walk down to the mail box each day and receive orders and letters from people from all over the States and Canada. I was amazed to see the variety of post marks from small and large towns. How had they heard of the book? What were their own personal stories? Some of them told me about their children and all were written from the heart. Never doubt that a mother only wants the very best for her child and what these mothers had to go through to find answers or help is incredible. The personal suffering that a family experiences when a family member has a mental illness is indescribable.
The ripple effect has been very much in evidence with the distribution of my book. As we had virtually no advertising, the knowledge of the book must have come through people passing it on to others. What a powerful way of communicating? I am grateful for the opportunity to write a book that has touched so many people’s lives.
Thank you for reading my story.
Sincerely,
Gayle Grass