Hold on Tight: A Parent's Journey Raising Children with Mental Illness

by Jan Stewart

Overview

Winner of a Mom's Choice Awards Gold Medal, Jan Stewart describes her raw and emotional journey raising two children with multiple mental health disorders. It's a roller coaster of emotions, from the time they were born to the present as young adults in their 30s. Pulling no punches, Jan describes moments of terrifying fear, pain, and hopelessness, as well as of awe, pride, and hope. While brutally honest, Hold on Tight is a love song to Jan's children. The book educates and empowers parents so that both they and their children can lead more fulfilling lives. Her compelling parental advice includes: • Trust your gut. • Persevere in identifying the right professionals, diagnoses, and treatments. • Insist on an integrated partnership approach with all those involved in each child's care. *And never give up.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781998841004
Publisher:	Barlow Publishing
Publication date:	03/02/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	53,376
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Jan Stewart is a highly regarded mental health governance expert and advocate. Her mission is to empower and inspire parents to persevere, as well as to better educate their families, friends, healthcare professionals, educators, and employers. Jan chairs the Board at Kerry's Place Autism Services, Canada's largest autism services provider, and was previously Vice Chair at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. She spent most of her career as a senior partner with the global executive search firm Egon Zehnder.

Editorial Reviews

"This brisk and honest account through a mother’s eyes of her two children, from infancy to adulthood, is a powerful story of struggle, uncertainty, determination, hope, and triumph. It demonstrates the need for both formal and informal supports – in healthcare, schools, workplaces, and the community – with the knowledge and instincts to help. It tells how two young people managed to find their place in the world and how their parents learned to celebrate it. And it provides a distillation of what was needed for the journey.” —David S. Goldbloom, OC, MD, FRCPC, Senior Medical Advisor, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Professor of Psychiatry, University of Toronto

 “Jan Stewart has capably filled the void in the literature by describing the roller-coaster lives of a family raising and living with two children with mental illness.  It is an honest and insightful account that will inform families going through such challenges. This book will be of great interest to all who care about this critical issue.”  —Paul Garfinkel, O.C., M.D., FRCP, FRSC, inaugural Chief Executive Officer, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

  “A devoted mother describes the daily challenges, successes and milestone events she and her husband experienced raising two children with mental health disorders from infancy to adulthood.  Every page is filled with remarkable insight, wisdom and indescribable love.”  —Susan VanDeVelde-Coke, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kerry’s Place Autism Services

“This book is a must-read for any family struggling to support their complex children or for those who know such a family. Through awareness comes compassion and a more inclusive world.”  —Amanda Matejicek, parent, business psychology consultant and advocate

From the Publisher