48 South Bay Accent COURTESY OF SHERI SOBRATO BRISSON That project is a journal designed to help sick children explore and work through their thoughts and emotions about their illnesses. The book, called “Digging Deep,” is already being used in hospitals and by medical organizations nationwide. Locally, Brisson has donated 1,000 copies to such groups and facilities as Make-a-Wish Greater Bay Area, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, Ronald McDonald House at Stanford and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital. “From my experience being a volunteer and working very closely with kids and families in support groups, I know that kids want to talk about their health problems,” she says. “They not only have the capacity to do so, but they have the desire to explore what illness means in their life. My tool is a way to do that in a very friendly, fun and affordable way.” Encouraging self-expression The vibrant, colorful journaling book was co-created with Rose Offner, who has developed other journaling books for adults and teens. “Digging Deep” contains a wide variety of writing prompts related to the experience of being sick, such as: • Describe the changes you’re going FROM MY EXPERIENCE BEING A VOLUNTEER AND WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH KIDS AND FAMILIES IN SUPPORT GROUPS, I KNOW THAT KIDS WANT TO TALK ABOUT THEIR HEALTH PROBLEMS.” —Sheri Sobrato Brisson through now, and how you feel about them. • Write about things you’ve heard that left you feeling unsettled and worried. • Draw the mask you are showing people and write about it. Then write about how you really feel inside. • Are there aspects of yourself that have grown or that you appreciate more because of your illness or condition? • Write a fairy tale or a short story about a challenge you’ve overcome, the lessons you’ve learned and the gifts you’ve received. In addition to the guided and artistically framed pages for journal entries, “Digging Deep” has other features that don’t call for prose-type writing. These include an awards page, where kids are asked to label a trophy with an award title they should get for their courage in facing their illness. It also has lists, such as one that asks kids to name their “100 Dreams and Desires.” Another one asks kids to make a list of “what makes you feel loved, cared about and special.” Barbara Sourkes, a professor of pediatrics at Stanford University School of Medicine, says many journaling books for kids don’t manage to engage them for very long. This one, though, is different. “There’s nothing like this book,” she says, having reviewed quite a few over her 30-plus year career. “It’s beautiful, it’s sophisticated. It touches on things many other books don’t. The text is just so much more interesting and compelling. So I was thrilled to be able to use it. ” Dale Larson, author and psychology professor at Santa Clara University agrees. “Digging Deep is inspiring, affirming, empowering and deeply empathic,” he says. “ It is something I wish every child struggling with illness could have.” ‘Just mine’ Since the book has only been available since October of last year, Sourkes has been gathering feedback and collected numerous stories from colleagues at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford, where young patients have been using “Digging Deep.” For instance, she tells of a teenage girl at the hospital school who, when given the book, dove right into the questions. After using it for a while, the girl said, “This book is the only thing that’s just mine.” “That book is her everything,” says Sourkes. “It’s all her private thoughts. It’s all her story, and it’s all under her control. Kids, when they’re sick, have so little control of anything. From their bodies and Brisson (right) offers support and encouragement for young journal writers at a California camp for kids with brain cancer and their families.
South Bay Accent - Apr/May 2015
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