Dear Art with Heart, My name is Kelly, I have a 7 year old daughter. She is the most loving child, but struggles every day with crippling Perfectionism. She has social anxiety, she is self-defeating and feels she cannot and should not do much to avoid failure. Her biggest issue is feeling inadequate. We have taken steps to help her change how she reacts to things and how she sees herself and the world around her. She is a very intelligent child and has fought us every step of the way. For Christmas I thought this book would be a fun way for her to open up about her feelings and express herself in a new medium. She did not touch it until today. We worked together on a few pages in Magnificent Marvelous Me tonight. When I asked her about herself and how that page made her feel, she yelled, “I am awesome!” After she said it, she stopped and looked at me and we both smiled and cried. She said she did not mean to say that, but it felt great. I have NEVER heard her say that unless she is forced to. I cannot tell you how great this was. It is a small thing, but a giant step for us. Thank you so much. Art has always been very important to me and this is a great way for my child to open up to herself and express emotion in a new way. She is finding herself and I cannot say thanks enough! ~ Maddy’s Mom

Laurie was a new resident at a lock down facility for youth in Louisiana who refused to talk to anyone. Her case manager, Crystal, offered her a Chill & Spill book, hoping it would help Laurie express her feelings. Crystal offered to keep the book safe from the other residents by locking it in a drawer in her office. Laurie came back day after day to work on her Chill & Spill in the safety of Crystal’s office. As Crystal worked led her slowly through the book, the “Exclusive Interview” activity captured Laurie’s imagination and she worked on it for quite a long time, having a difficult time answering even the simplest questions, such as “What are your talents and strengths?”. “She had always been told that she was a trouble maker, that she was ‘good for nothing.’ The book — and this activity in particular — asked her questions about her strengths and talents, which made her realize that she did have something to offer…” Crystal is happy to report that this experience became a catalyst for change in Laurie’s life, who became more outgoing and began participating in group activities – something she refused to do beforehand. She even decided on a life goal as a direct result of the book: she decided she wants to be a pediatrician so she can help kids.

Patrick was first diagnosed with Leukemia when he was only four years old. Over the next seven years, he spent months in isolation for various infections and bone marrow transplants. He was given a copy of Oodles of Doodles during one of his many lengthy stays. Although he had received many coloring and activity books while in the hospital, his mom Stephanie quickly recognized that Oodles was different, “The pages were filled with activities that seemed to be made with Patrick in mind. I saw the book as an opportunity to tap into my son’s healing on a deeper level – not just physically.” “Oodles helped us to show doctors that Patrick was more than just a patient. We taped the ‘All about Me’ page on his hospital room door so that they would know that he loved sports, the ocean and art.” The pages from the book helped transform his sterile environment into a “place of wonder and imagination.” Says his mom, “Each night we read the words aloud from the ‘Dreams’ page. In the all too familiar sterility of a hospital room, this beautiful book created an escape from the reality of illness – into one of imagination, with future hopes and dreams.” The book gave Patrick a creative respite from the difficult reality of his illness. It provided him a place to dream and to just be a kid. For Stephanie, Oodles of Doodles gave her a way to connect with her son’s heart. “I don’t know how I would have made it through Patrick’s illness without the comfort of Art with Heart’s work.”