December release: Goodbye Daisy by Stephanie Nimmo for teachers & parents
ADVANCE INFORMATION MEDIA SHEET
Goodbye Daisy
By Stephanie Nimmo
Written for children, parents, carers, health professionals and teachers...
16-page children's story - beautifully illustrated
Advice on what to do when a child dies in a school community
"Ella's story" - advice from Ella Beard, Daisy's Therapist
"Stephanie's story" - Stephanie Nimmo's perspective
"Daisy's story" - by her Mummy
Stephanie Nimmo's daughter, Daisy, was born with a rare, life-limiting, genetic disease. She had lots of things going on medically but in-between hospital stays, Daisy loved nothing more than going to school and spending time with her friends.
Daisy had a learning disability; she used Makaton, a form of sign language, to help her communicate. Despite her minimal verbal skills Daisy understood everything, she knew exactly what was going on!
Sadly, when Daisy was only ten her beloved Daddy died of cancer. Her teachers made a special book for us to read to her, helping Daisy to articulate her feelings about losing her Daddy. At the time Stephanie found that there were very few books that she could use which were aimed at helping Daisy communicate her feelings around her grief and loss.
A year later Daisy succumbed to sepsis and she joined her Daddy in the stars. Daisy had been the life and soul of her school and the staff and children were devastated.
Stephanie recalls visiting her friend whose daughter attended the school. She was really aware when she entered their home that the little girl was trying to make sense of it all - Stephanie was in the house, but where was Daisy? She, like Daisy, understood a lot of what was happening but she did not have the words to talk about how she felt.
As Stephanie spoke to the teachers and therapists who had worked with Daisy and her friends at school several things struck her; statistically children in special schools are more likely to lose a classmate than a child in a mainstream school; death and grief are not curriculum subjects; very few resources exist to help children, especially non-verbal or learning-disabled children understand and communicate their feelings around death and dying.
Goodbye Daisy is written in Daisy's honour to help others at an incredibly difficult time.
Stephanie Nimmo is a writer, journalist, campaigner and blogger. ​Steph was born in Wales but has lived in London since 1990. For over a decade, her blog Was this in the Plan? has shone a light on the world of disability, palliative care and end of life planning as she openly shares the details of her life caring for a life limited child, her husband's diagnosis with terminal cancer and the death of both her husband and daughter just 13 months apart. Her book Was this in the Plan? was published by Hashtag Press last year, it's a memoir about living and dying well. Steph has written for the BMJ, Marie Claire, The Guardian, The Pool, The Independent and Mumsnet and works closely with the Palliative Care team at Great Ormond Street to train medical professionals.
Title:Goodbye Daisy
Author:Stephanie Nimmo
Cover designer:Helen Braid
Genre:Parenting, Families, Children, Health, Education
Publisher:Hashtag Press
Publication date:3rdDecember 2018
Page count:32
Availability:Paperback, eBook
Author website:https://www.stephnimmo.com/
Twitter:https://twitter.com/stephnimmo
Press folder:http://bit.ly/2ruJuer
Online profile:http://www.literallypr.com/public_relations/file/Stephanie-Nimmo---Goodbye-Daisy.php
For more information, extracts, editorial opportunities, interview requests or review copies please get in touch withHelenLewis@LiterallyPR.com+44 (0) 7904801669
Hashtag Press
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