Children's Book Explains Why Mom Deploys
May 09, 2008
BY Jacqueline M. Hames
"My Mommy Wears
Combat Boots," was written by Sgt. 1st Class Sharon G.
McBride before her second deployment, partly to explain to her daughter
why
she would be gone. The book was published in February.
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, May 8, 2008) - A new children's book,
written by a former Soldier
and single mother, helps to explain why mom
deployed and how to cope with the emotions associated with her
departure.
"My Mommy Wears Combat Boots," written by Sgt. 1st Class Sharon G.
McBride, is geared to young
children and toddlers to help explain why
mom had to leave and how to manage feelings of anger, sadness and
loneliness.
McBride was motivated to write the book just before her second
deployment after her daughter was
born. She scoured the internet and
book stores looking for a children's book that would help explain the
situation,
she said, but could find none that seemed appropriate.
"What was available was geared toward daddies," McBride said, "And I
thought that would confuse
her more."
At a loss, McBride decided to write her own book. The original copy was
written on the computer
and illustrated by hand-drawn sketches, and then
bound at the neighborhood Kinkos, she said.
The book helped to explain to McBride's daughter, Lyssa, why she had to
deploy.
"Kids are egocentric," McBride said, "They don't understand duty and
honor, they only want mom
or dad back."
The main character of the book, a young girl bear-cub, has to deal with
her mother going on deployment.
The cub experiences many emotions:
anger, frustration, sadness, loneliness, and even guilt.
"My Mommy Wears Combat Boots" explains that those emotions are normal,
and it is OK to feel them,
McBride said. The book presents ways of
dealing with those emotions with the help of a care-giver-in this case,
Grandma.
In the book, McBride illustrates that proper forms of emotional
expression, such as running outside or screaming into your
pillow, are
acceptable, but hitting grandma or shouting at the family pet is not.
Published Feb. 28, 2008, the book is based on McBride's experiences with
her daughter during deployment.
The first time she deployed, McBride
left without explaining to her daughter why she was going; she said that
was her
main mistake.
"I should have talked to her like a little adult," McBride said.
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