Ellie's dad did not come for their visit, and Ellie is stuck in a cloud of sadness and anger as she tries to understand why. Fortunately, Miss K. and Ellie's Uncle Finny are there to help her. Using the metaphor of a wave, they help Ellie talk about and understand her daddy's ups and downs, recognize and hold on to loving memories, and know that she is not alone.
Millions of young children live in families with an adult who is struggling due to trauma (ACEs), mental illness (PTSD, depression, bipolar), substance abuse, or other addiction. Daddy's Waves was written for any child who has a family member who struggles with emotional waves whether they live together or not.
The story was developed to open doors to conversations that young children need to have. When family members have challenges, young children worry about them and often have many difficult questions. They need the help of grown-ups within and outside their families
- To have language for the challenges that their parents face
- To know that they can talk about tough times and good times
- To better understand why their parent may not be around
- And, very importantly, to keep good memories alive because these memories shape their view of themselves as worthy of love
Daddy's Waves shows us that these conversations are possible, important, and support healing and connection.
While the book was written specifically for children whose parents have struggled with addiction or mental illness, other children may benefit from having language and dialogue that helps them to empathically understand the challenges that too many families are facing.
Daddy's Waves is the second book in the Ellie Bean series and was developed by the team that created Once I Was Very Very Scared, You Weren't With Me, Holdin Pott, and the Trinka and Sam story series as tools to help families heal after stressful or traumatic events.
Daddy's Waves is an adaptation of Mama's Waves and was developed at the request of families and therapists.
Ghosh Ippen, Chandra: - Chandra Ghosh Ippen is a child psychologist and children's book author. She is Associate Director of the Child Trauma Research Program at the University of California, San Francisco and Director of Dissemination and Implementation for Child-Parent Psychotherapy. She is a member of the board of directors of Zero to Three and has spent the last 28 years conducting research, clinical work, and training in the area of childhood trauma. Her children's books include Once I Was Very Very Scared, You Weren't with Me, Holdin Pott, Mama's Waves and the Trinka and Sam disaster series, which has reached over 350,00 families across the world.
Ippen, Erich: - As a boy, Erich was always interested in cartoons and character design. In his professional career, as a digital artist and technical director at Industrial Light and Magic, he has created visual effects for movies like Rango, Harry Potter, The Avengers and Star Wars, and many others. He is also a singer, songwriter, music producer aka Kingdom Krumb, and founding member of the San Francisco rock band District 8.
