Lil’ Broken Star

Editorial Reviews

As someone with schizophrenia, I have a certain appreciation with shorter books as reading full length novels is rather exhausting with the extra stimulation as I read. I like the interactive bubbles where you write your own symptoms to compare with to the author's. I also like the child friendly advice that is given for coping. My personal advice is harder to understand as it's a whole brain rewiring/readapting your mind speech (which I would label college friendly more than child friendly). This kind of puts it in a more relateable idea and expression. The advice is realistic. All it takes is practice using what is in this book, and personally, there's nothing wrong with tweaking it to fit your loved ones or yourselves individual needs like I did when I was learning about this when I was younger. If I took anything from this book it's that adaptation is key. :)

A must read!!! Now I understand and you and your family can too. Perfect example of "knowledge is power".

First, a disclosure. This is a review by a husband and wife who have raised a daughter with schizophrenia and have followed the public advocacy by the author. Ms. Withers continues to reach out from the perspective of her own experiences and finds a way to address the challenges of hearing voices and visualizing scary monsters. Our experiences as parents have shown us that one of the most difficult concepts for parents to consider is how their child views their world and is adjusting to that view. Ms. Withers provides affirmations and allows for a child to express what is happening to them as a way of relieving the anxiety that a child might feel if they were hearing voices. It would be a useful device to create understanding between a parent and child about how the child is dealing with their perceptions. We consider it as a positive way to approach the topics of hearing voices and providing reassurance that wile these experiences may be troublesome, they can be dealt with without shame and in a practical manner.

I loved the simplicity of this book for children. It provides a nonjudgmental, age appropriate explanation to schizophrenia. This books helps in the fight against stigma while providing a way to help children understand mental illness without the fear normally associated with it. "Just because something is different does not mean it is broken" is a wonderful expression to teach others of all ages. I like the tips to deal with the symptoms of Schizophrenia as well. I definitely recommend this book. Cheryl LeClear Wallace, LMSW

Rachel takes a big scary subject and makes it relatable. Most books on Mental Health for children are more explanatory. But this book gives your child a friend you know is going through the same thing they are. This should be given to all children who have a mental illness.