Books with author Claudia Black

Children who grow up in addicted families usually learn at a very young age that it is not safe for them to openly talk about their family experiences. This updated edition of My Dad Loves Me, My Dad Has a Disease gives children ages five to twelve the opportunity to work through their feelings of loss, loneliness, fear, and frustration, both verbally and through drawing exercises. Through sharing their thoughts and feelings, children can develop a better understanding of addiction and how it affects their parent(s).Written from a child's point of view, My Dad Loves Me, My Dad Has a Disease has helped thousands of children and is a springboard for children to understand their own recovery process in a family ravaged by addiction.

The basic premise of this book is that chemical dependency is a disease; the alcoholic/addict is a sick person not a bad person. This disease affects not only the addicted person but those who love that person as well. This is a book that will help others affected by chemical dependency to become well. My Dad Loves Me My Dad Has A Disease was originally written as a result of Claudia Black's work with young people who had a parent in treatment for their alcoholism. These children were learning at a very young age that it was not safe for them to openly talk about their family experiences. Art therapy was a wonderful medium for them to find the words and a voice in which to talk honestly. It was also a wonderful tool in which to not only share feelings but to problem solve, lessen denial, and to put words to that which was so confusing. The original pictures were all drawn and the stories written by children age five through fourteen that had one or two alcoholic parents. After many years and thousands of children using this workbook, it has been revised to address the fact that today, if a child lives with addiction, it may not be alcohol addiction. The family member may be addicted to other drugs as well. Words have been rewritten, some pictures changed and new pictures added making it possible for more children of addiction to experience their own recovery process. Many years ago when Claudia Black was a counselor in an alcohol and drug treatment program, she asked a six-year-old daughter of a man in treatment for his addiction if she knew why her father was in this program. The girl paused and with confidence said, My Dad Loves Me, but My Dad Has a Disease. In spite of her father's addiction she knew her father loved her. That is a message Claudia would like all young people to be able to believe. Unfortunately when people are addicted they often lose the ability to act in loving ways toward those they love.Growing up in an addicted family usually means living by the rule: it is not all right to talk about the drinking or using in your family. Having been raised in an alcoholic family herself, by the age of six Claudia shared the feelings of loneliness, fear and frustration of her family. Working through the loneliness, fear and frustration by expressing feelings is what this book is all about. This workbook gives children age 5 - 12 the opportunity to share their thoughts and feelings and to better understand addiction. Although this workbook was designed for and the illustrations created by young children, it may also hold insights for the now adult age person raised in an addictive home.

Kindness, respect, and compassion permeate this story as the exploration of human potential continues through the friendships of the main characters and in their connections with the beloved departed: the long-deceased Aunt May and recently passed David McNabb. Through these heartfelt exchanges, the reality that there is more becomes evident. After an unfortunate and inexplicable incident occurs at a cherished setting called Mertons Cove, new characters from the scientific community, along with an unusually gifted park ranger and an amiable police chief, enrich the story, bringing excitement and hope to all involved. Coming together from many different walks of life, this cast of characters blend their areas of expertise as they discover the validity of existential communication with those in this life and beyond, as well as humankinds potential for personally and collectively directing energy that is capable of assisting and healing others, including the remarkable life being, Earth. By engaging with this fascinating tale, your awareness of who you really are is profoundly expanded.

As five old friends and one young newcomer come together to share recent life experiences, an adventure into new realities unfolds. United by friendship, curiosity, and similar interests, the brave companions explore expansive possibilities not imagined before. Their journeys reveal evidence that much more exists than presently is visible to the human eye and demonstrate the comforting reality that we are all accompanied throughout our life experiences. Through an intriguing and believable tale, The Time When Time No Longer Matters announces the coming of a new way of being as it invites the reading audience to participate in the evolutionary process that awaits humankind.