16/03/2024
Here it is!! I’m SO excited that this book came together 😍 In some senses I feel like I’ve been writing it since my journey with Open Parachute began… As some of you know, I actually started this whole wild ride wanting to write a book for teenagers. And was promptly told by many a teenager “umm… dumb idea. Make us videos on a YouTube channel instead” 🤣 And through many twists and turns, the concept of ‘videos for teens’ ended up becoming a mental health program for schools. One that took Tom and back and forth I across three countries over four years (including many a border crossing/two week isolation during covid 😆) to film kids and teens sharing their stories of overcoming hardship, so these stories could give students all over the world a pathway to hope ❤️ The profound honour of witnessing and sharing these stories of struggle, vulnerability, honesty, courage, and strength, is an experience I will be forever grateful for 🥰 I also feel a great responsibility to take the wisdom that has been shared with me by these incredible young people and bring it to the widest platform possible, so that these youth voices can lead the way to a brighter future for all of us ❤️ Which brings me to this book 😁 It is a resource for educators (or anyone working with, living with, or supporting young people). It is designed to provide guidance for how to have conversations with youth when they are struggling with various challenges that impact their mental health, so that we are all more able to find the right words when the youth in our life truly need us ❤️ And what excites me most about this book is that in every chapter, there is a dialogue with one of the kids/teens we interviewed, so their language, their perspectives, and their needs can shine through and help us all better understand exactly what youth need when they are struggling. Young people really are our teachers, and I’m beyond excited that I can provide a way for these incredible teachers to be seen, heard, and respected for the courageous leaders that they are 🥰🥰🥰
You can preorder a copy here:
https://openparachuteschools.com/finding-the-words/
Or pass it on to anyone in your life you think might benefit. Release date will be sometime this month 😁😁
