Story Books Aren’t Just for Kids: My Health Literacy Story

By Neyal J. Ammary-Risch, MPH, CHES
Silver Spring, Maryland

When I was in elementary school, my friend Rachel’s mother died from cancer. Rachel and I were best friends and played together all of the time. When her mother was diagnosed, I was about six years old and I had no clue what cancer was. As her mother went through treatment, she suffered from the pallor, hair loss, nausea, and all of the other horrible things that it can bring. I didn’t really understand why her mom looked so different or why she was sick. And it wasn’t long before I wasn’t allowed to go over to Rachel’s to play because her mom didn’t feel well. Cancer can be scary and confusing for anyone—especially when you’re a little kid.

So when I was a student at the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public Health and was assigned to create an educational resource for children on a topic of my choice, I decided to take on cancer. I started by looking at the research on psychosocial issues that children of cancer survivors face and at existing resources to help parents talk to children about cancer. I found that there really wasn’t a whole lot of information available, especially for very young children, and that nearly everything I found had pictures only of white people. This research gave me the direction I needed to create something that adults could use to talk to kids about cancer and that addressed some of the psychosocial issues they face, such as fear of catching it or worry that they caused it. I also wanted to create something that could be used across different races and ethnicities. So I wrote the book In Mommy’s Garden: A Book to Help Explain Cancer to Young Children. I decided to evaluate it with cancer survivors and young children to determine if it was a useful tool in communicating about cancer. One woman said, "It's just hard to come up with your own words when you are in the situation. You can give me all the brochures you want, but when I have to start the conversation and I am already crying, it's too hard to do. This book you can just sit down and read as a story."

I am sharing my book experience as my health literacy story because I’ve learned a lot from the cancer survivors and health professionals who have used it. I’ve learned that story books really aren’t just for kids, especially when you are dealing with serious issues. An elderly African American woman told me she took a copy of the book to her church because it was a simple and easy way for people to learn about cancer, especially for the adults who didn’t read well. A social worker called me once to tell me that she had been working with a woman who had cancer and they had been trying to explain what cancer was to her adult son with Down’s Syndrome, and reading the book with him was the first time he really seemed to understand what cancer was.

I have other examples I could share, but the most important thing I’ve learned through my book is that when it comes to cancer, or any serious health issue, finding the words to understand it, explain it, or talk about it can be extremely difficult no matter who you are, how old you are, or how smart you are. Breaking information down into simple words, using pictures that effectively illustrate the words, and keeping a positive tone can help all people, not just children, to comprehend and cope with health issues they hoped they’d never have to face.

Neyal J. Ammary-Risch, MPH, CHES is the author of In Mommy’s Garden. To learn more about this book (available in English and Spanish) and order your copy, go to http://books.canyonbeach.com/inmommysgarden.

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