Information Brochures
There is so much to learn from other parents supporting a child through mental health challenges.
Cozy up at the Nook. These books (and some movies, too!) have been recommended by Pleo parents as resources to inform, challenge, inspire, and provide guidance.
The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health: Navigate an Unequal System, Learn Tools for Emotional Wellness, and Get the Help You Deserve
Rheeda Walker, Ph.D.
English
Loving Someone (seven book series)
New Harbinger Publications
English
Recommended by a Pleo Parent
Rock My Soul: Black People and Self-Esteem
bell hooks
English
Pleo Staff: As recommended by @pleo4families channels!
A Burst of Light: and Other Essays
Audre Lorde
English
Audre Lorde:“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”
My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies
Resmaa Menakem
English
https://www.resmaa.com/: The body is where our instincts reside and where we fight, flee, or freeze, and it endures the trauma inflicted by the ills that plague society. In this groundbreaking work, therapist Resmaa Menakem examines the damage caused by racism in America from the perspective of body-centered psychology.
Spirit Bear’s Guide to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Calls to Action
Spirit Bear
English
fncaringsociety.com: This booklet is written by Spirit Bear as a youth-friendly guide to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) 94 Calls to Action. Visit: fncaringsociety.com/publications/spirit-bears-guide-truth-and-reconciliation-commission-canada-calls-action
The Orange Shirt Story
Phyllis Webstad
English
Publisher’s site: When Phyllis Webstad (nee Jack) turned six, she went to the residential school for the first time. On her first day at school, she wore a shiny orange shirt that her Granny had bought for her, but when she got to the school, it was taken away from her and never returned. This is the true story of Phyllis and her orange shirt. It is also the story of Orange Shirt Day (an important day of remembrance for First Nations and non First Nations Canadians).
Eleanor and Park
Rainbow Rowell
English
cbc.ca: Challenged by some school libraries for its profanity and realistic portrayal of domestic abuse, Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell has also received a Michael Printz Award among other accolades. It is gritty, but it portrays the anxieties of bullying, family abuse and social pressures at school in a way that is lacking in many other teen books. It also happens to be one of the sweetest, most believable teen romances written
Anxiety: Deal with it before it ties you up in knots
Joey Mandel, Illustrated by Ted Heeley
English
Summary: This accessible, illustrated book helps all kids understand anxiety better and offers practical ideas for coping. Filled with information, quizzes, definitions, and helpful hints, Deal With It: Anxiety helps young people identify and deal with the many different ways that anxiety is expressed, from phobias to panic attacks, in settings as diverse as home, the schoolyard, and the mall. It offers insight to everyone — to the child experiencing anxiety, to someone who doubts the problem is real, and to a young person who witnesses another’s problem.
Demeter Press
Demeter Press
English
From a Pleo Staff: Demeter Press is an independent feminist press publishing peer-reviewed scholarly work, fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction on mothering, reproduction, sexuality and family. Visit: demeterpress.org
Inside Out
Disney
English
From a Pleo Staff: Discusses a person’s range of emotions in a relatable way, using the example of a young girl moving to a new city.
Encanto
Disney
English
From a Pleo Staff: A story about family, fitting in, and unpacking intergenerational trauma; healing together.
Turning Red
Disney/Pixar
English
From a Pleo Staff: A beautiful story about emotions and growing up, the navigation of family relationships as children become teens, and challenging intergenerational trauma.
Demeter Transitions of the Heart: Stories of Love, Struggle and Acceptance by Mothers of Transgender and Gender Variant Children
Rachel Pepper
English
From a Pleo Staff: As recommended in Dear Pleo!
How to Keep House While Drowning: 31 days of compassionate help
KC Davis
English
From a Pleo Staff: Short and to the point, this book may be helpful for parents who have teenagers struggling with personal care, or even parents who find the housekeeping part of life to be too much. The author shows a compassionate way to frame these issues.
Help for Eating Disorders: A Parent’s Guide to Symptoms, Causes and Treatments
Debra Katzman, Leora Pinhas
English
From a Pleo Staff: As recommended in Dear Pleo!
Unlocking the Mysteries of Eating Disorders, A Life-Saving Guide to Your Child’s Treatment and Recovery
David B. Herzog, Debra Franko, and Pat Cable
English
From a Pleo Staff: As recommended in Dear Pleo!
Help Your Teenager Beat an Eating Disorder
James Lock and Daniel Le Grange
English
From a Pleo Staff: As recommended in Dear Pleo!
Don’t Let Your Kids Kill You: A Guide for Parents of Drug and Alcohol Addicted Children
Charles Rubin
English
From a Pleo Staff:“Written by a parent who figured out to protect himself from the destruction drug abuse can cause.”
Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions Into Adulthood
Lisa D’amour
English
From a Pleo Staff: This book helps guide teenage daughters as they transition into young adulthood and provides a framework to parents in understanding.
Hello I Want to Die Please Fix Me
Anna Mehler Paperny
English
From a Pleo Staff: A first person narrative on what it is like to live with mental illness and to navigate mental health systems in Canada.
My Daughter Rehtaeh Parsons
Glen Canning, with Susan McClelland
English
From a Pleo Staff: Tells the story of Canning’s daughter Rehtaeh Parsons, who died by suicide after battling depression, going through the mental health system, and experiencing widespread bullying after being sexually assaulted.
Stop Walking on Eggshells
Paul T. Mason & Randi Kreger
English
From a Pleo Parent: This book allowed me to better relate to my daughter.
ADHD: Living Without Brakes
Martin L. Kutscher
English
From a Pleo Parent: A must-own/must-read for anyone with a child diagnosed or suspected to having ADHD. Straight forward, practical and easy to read. A great resource that I often refer to.
What to do When you Worry Too Much: A kid’s guide to overcoming anxiety
Dawn Huebner and Bonnie Matthews
English
From a Pleo Parent: The exact right resource at the right time for him. Helped him to build practical coping skills for anxious thoughts. He was engaged and interested. Workbook style- pages for a child to draw how they feel and creates buy-in to the process.
The Explosive Child: A new approach for understanding and parenting easily frustrated, chronically inflexible children
Ross W. Greene, Ph.D.
English
From a Pleo Parent: Over a year and a half ago or so I was given your number to contact. The wonderful woman at the other end recommended the Explosive Child by Dr Greene. I was feeling very alone and judged at the time so I bought a digital copy of the book on Amazon. It changed our lives. Thank you for what you do.
Got Parts? An Insider’s Guide to Managing Life Successfully with Dissociative Identity Disorder
A.T.W
English
From a Pleo Parent: This book was really helpful in helping me understand my daughter’s “inner world” and how it all works inside her head.
A Boy and a Bear: The Children’s Relaxation Book
Lori Lite
English
From a PleoParent: I found it to be a great way to de-stress my anxious child before bed. The secondary benefit is that it helps me as a parent reduce my feeling of stress too.
Hold on to your kids: Why parents Need to Matter More than Peers
Gordon Neufeld & Gabor Maté
English
From a Pleo Parent: Explains why it is so important to ensure our kids’ closest connection to us.
Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No, To Take Control of Your Life
Cloud & Townsend
English
From a Pleo Parent: “This book really helped me understand why boundaries are important and also gave me the practical knowledge to put healthy boundaries in place with mom, my kids, my husband and friends. Note that this is a Christian author and does contain some biblical references.”
In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction
Dr. Gabor Maté
English
From a Pleo Parent: This book concentrates on the realm of addictions, all addictions. Dr. Maté talks about some of the clients that he works with at his Hastings East Clinic in Vancouver. He shows the human and loving side of his clients. He showed me how to separate the loved one from the addiction. A Great read!!
Positive Parenting: An Essential Guide
Rebecca Eanes
English
From a PleoParent: This book helped me be able to raise my child with brain science strategies including attachment strategies.
Respire
Inês Castel-Branco
Français
Commentaires d’un critique du livre: Au fil de ce dialogue entre une maman et son enfant, on apprend à poser un bateau de papier sur son ventre pour observer l’inspiration et l’expiration ; à ouvrir généreusement les bras comme un pommier ou à fair résonner de sons pour apaiser différentes parties de son corps. L’auteure-illustratrice, qui a pratiqué ces jeux d’initiation au yoga avec ses trois enfants, nous raconte aussi comment on souffle fort pour chasser les nuages gris du ciel et les mots qui nous pèsent comme angoisse, jalousie ou peur…
Taking Charge of ADHD, Third Edition: The Complete, Authoritative Guide for Parents
Russell A. Barkley
English
Just knowing you guys are there on the phone every day makes me feel stronger.