Support for Grieving Children after Military Parent's Death
Norris, MT (PRWeb) February 5, 2007 -- Janet Muirhead Hill, noted author of the children's Starlight book series writes her most poignant book to date. "Danny's Dragon: A Story of Wartime Loss" (ISBN 978-0977252503, Raven Publishing Inc., 2006), is a remarkable story designed to support any child going through the loss of a parent, and the many stages of grief that accompany the recovery process.
At the time of writing her story, statistics stated that nearly 900 children of US military personnel had lost a parent in Iraq or Afghanistan. Hill, a lifelong advocate for children's rights and issues, sensed an urgency to create a story for these children to provide a way to define and validate their feelings, and to allow the world to see the effects of conflict on a personal level.
"Danny's Dragon" is told through the eyes of ten-year-old Danny, who lives with his family on a Montana ranch. Danny's dad, a member of the Air National Guard is killed in Iraq, and the story begins with Danny's denial of this fact and his withdrawal from all reminders of his father. Throughout the story, Danny's horse Dragon goes through more than one kind of metamorphosis, transforming from a painful reminder of his father, to a vehicle for Danny's denial, and finally, a way for Danny to hold his dad's memory close to him. Readers are taken into Danny's heart and mind as he portrays the many classic stages of the grief process, and his gradual adaptation to a life without dad.
Significant to the story is also the portrayal of the economic impact of losing a parent in a war as Danny's family is forced to leave their family ranch and move into the city. Issues of racism, hatred and fear are touched on as Danny meets "the enemy" in the form of an Iraqi born classmate at his new school. Throughout Danny's experience, Hill gently brings to light the family division and loss of communication that grief can cause and shows the ways in which they discover each other again.
"Danny's Dragon" is recommended to be read by children ages 8+ with a parent or teacher due to its emotional content. Hills's intuitive glimpse into subject matter that is hard enough for parents to deal with makes this book an honorable standout and useful bridge for opening communication during the grief process. Its messages of tolerance and understanding - of one's own feelings, of the actions of those grieving, and of people who are different - are gently and effectively expressed, making this book critically important for its time.
Janet Muirhead Hill writes from her rural Montana home. She has studied and worked in health care, has done custom haying, raised horses and children, and taken courses in pre-medicine, public health, human development and creative writing. In 1997, Hill launched a small desktop published periodical, Alone Together, as a forum for survivors of childhood abuse and trauma, and in late 2001 expanded that venture into a publishing company to produce her own and others' "true fiction" books. "Danny's Dragon: A Story of Wartime Loss" (ISBN 978-0977252503, Raven Publishing, Inc., 2006) can be purchased at local and online bookstores, as well as www.janetmuirheadhill.com, or www.ravenpublishing.net.
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