Dear Reader,
Welcome to fall, y’all! It’s my favorite season of the year. Speaking of y’all, I’m excited to welcome a fellow Southerner to my interview table today.
This quarter’s newsletter features a giveaway of Caris Snider’s new book There’s an Elephant on My Chest! (See details below.)
Caris hails from Alabama, just a holler or two away from me in Tennessee. Her latest children’s book is a wonderful tool for helping children cope with anxiety; and quite honestly, she offers some great advice for us adults as well.
Q: Welcome, Caris! First, I see from your website that you graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in Child Development. Tell us a little more about your background and why you came to write a book about coping with the “elephants” on our chests.
A: I graduated from the University of Alabama with a Child Development degree in December 2003. I had always loved working with children and knew that one day I would want to run my own preschool. I have had the pleasure of working with students from birth to college-age almost 20 years — through being in a classroom, being an Assistant Director, teaching music, working with college students, and even achieving my dream of having my own daycare. I did this for an entire year, and God led me from there into my next role as a mother. I wrote There’s an Elephant on My Chest because I saw the need for resources to begin helping our children learn early on about coping skills. I struggled with anxiety as a child and want to help others who find themselves in that same fight. This book will help children know they are not alone and give adults words and awareness to steward those children in their care on how to respond in healthy ways.
Q: Allie, your main character, has a host of people helping her shrink her elephant—especially her friends Gracie, Destiny, and Max. What inspired you to include children her age to give her good advice?
A: I wanted the main character, Allie, to see it was ok to talk to her friends about her elephant. The more we can normalize struggles for our children the less they will feel the need to hide.
Q: I love the empathy Ana Sebastian, your illustrator, captures on the faces of these friends. What input did you have in your book’s illustrations, and what is your favorite image?
A: The illustrator did a phenomenal job bringing this book to life. I gave some ideas and thoughts for each spread, and she went above and beyond what I could have ever dreamed! I believe my favorite spread would either be the spread that opens you up into Allie’s room in the beginning of the book. All the colors and details in her room bring everything to life. Or . . . I absolutely love the way she brought Allie’s Gratitude List to life. The gummy bears would be on my Gratitude List too!
Q: A doctor and a school counselor give Allie great advice to help her shrink her elephant. For example, they suggest focusing on the things we are thankful for as good practice for every day. As a Certified Professional Life Coach, what is your best advice for helping all of us cope with our “elephants”?
A: Some of the best things we can do at any age when it comes to anxiety, stress, or any elephant of emotion is to first acknowledge it is there. By shining a light on it, this weakens its hold on our lives. Having a community of people to talk through difficulties is so important. We all need people in our lives who will hold space and listen. We also need people who will help us take a step forward in making healthy changes. Practicing gratitude daily is a natural anxiety blocker we can all put into place and watch how it will change our perspective. Finally, we need to be intentional about thoughts we let stay…just because they come doesn’t mean they get to stay.
Q: In today’s world we are seeing more and more situations where children are faced with anxiety on many different levels. While your book offers great advice for coping with these situations after they are acknowledged, do you have any suggestions for preventing them before they become “elephant” in size?
A: As I tell students, we are the boss of our brain. We need to practice taking negative thoughts captive and replacing them with truth and life-giving words. I would also like to say if anxiety or depression has kept you from being able to function or do normal daily activities for several weeks now, it may be time to speak to a doctor or counselor. Your body is trying to tell you it needs additional help. This extra help was lifesaving and lifechanging for me.
Q: What do you hope your readers take away from this story, and where can they purchase your books?
A: I hope children and adults come away with relief knowing it is not just them who has an elephant on their chest. I hope families have conversations about big feelings and emotions with the young people in their lives and become a safe place for them. I hope teachers use this book within their curriculum to deal with social and emotional learning. You can purchase There’s an Elephant on My Chest as well as my other books at www.carissnider.com or www.endgamepress.com.
Thank you, Caris! I appreciate your time and your willingness to share your story. I wish you much success with this book and your future writings!
Readers, please check out Caris’s website found at carissnider.com for more information as well as additional resources (from blowing bubbles to popping bubble wrap) for dealing with your elephants.
This fall, I hope you can benefit from Caris’s advice as you find some time to breathe, slow down, and savor the season. Enjoy a little pumpkin spice and stay tuned to my October blog for more reflections on the fullness of fall!
For a chance to win a copy of There’s an Elephant on My Chest, subscribe to my newsletter at https://joycemccullough.com/newsletter/ before midnight CDT this Sunday, September 24, 2023.
Blessings,
The Literary Lyonesse
Any books for children that addresses children’s coping with day-to-day stressors is a winner for sure. The advent of our social media driven society kids are having to deal with more and more issues at an early age. Having a children’s book that can present solutions in an easy to read and understand fashion should be welcomed by all.
Thank you, Pete!
We all touch children in many ways and I love Caris’s personal goal to operate her own preschool.
It is great Caris uses a creative title and illustrator to help children deal with a subject that even as adults we deal with.
Today we published our first Children’s book and the idea for our book came from a unique preschool practice of engagement between the preschoolers and a stuffed animal.
My granddaughter is a co-author and the inspiration behind what we hope will be a book series.
To have a working preschool practice and use this practice to influence children in a positive manner through stories is very commendable.
We all touch children in many ways and I love Caris’s personal goal to operate her own preschool.
It is great Caris uses a creative title and illustrator to help children deal with a subject that even as adults we deal with.
Today we published our first Children’s book and the idea for our book came from a unique preschool practice of engagement between the preschoolers and a stuffed animal.
My granddaughter is a co-author and the inspiration behind what we hope will be a book series.
To have a working preschool practice and use this practice to influence children in a positive manner through stories is very commendable.