Kellyn Shoecraft on Personalized Board Books for Grieving Young Kids
“There are some, in grief, who immediately throw themselves into pictures and memories. I am not that type of person. It has been 15 months since my sister died, but I still choose not to look at pictures of her. The heartache is too much. It will not always be this way, but this is how I feel now. Despite where I am in my own process, I wanted my nephew to be able to access pictures of his mom whenever he wanted the comfort of her image and to be able to use the photos to maintain or build memories based on our stories about her.”
— Kellyn Shoecraft
I had a fantastic discussion with Kellyn Shoecraft for this episode.
Kellyn lost her dad when she was 20 years old, and more recently lost her sister. Kellyn made a board book for her 2-year-old nephew with pictures of him and his mom, as well as a couple of other books for her young daughter so she could come to know several family members who had died before she really had a chance to know them. During our interview she shared her experience making these books, along with lots of practical tips for both making the books and sharing them with kids, as well as sharing some reflections on losing her dad at such a young age.
I hope you enjoy my discussion with Kellyn Shoecraft.
Links & resources for this episode
Kellyn’s blog post on making board books for her nephew & daughter
Pinhole Press personalized board books for kids
Instagram @hereforyou.co
More links for listeners
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