Martin House mum Rachel Mangan has published a children’s book inspired by her son Jack and his favourite toy.
The Lion Who Lost His Courage is aimed at children aged two to six, and tells the story of Jack the lion, who is nervous about visiting the doctor and thinks he’s lost his courage. But with the help of his mum, Jack realises he always had courage and just needs to believe in himself.
Rachel wrote the book as a way to help carve out her own sense of identity.
“Every year after Christmas, I feel low and like I have no other purpose than as a carer. I had been feeling that way for a long time, so my husband Richard suggested looking at online courses that I could do at my own pace, to see if there was anything I fancied. I saw one about writing a children’s book, but ended up leaving it a full year, and I got to another Christmas and was feeling really down again, so I just went and bought myself the course on how to write a children’s book.”
Rachel was inspired by her son Jack, 16, and who is supported by Martin House, and his favourite toy – a rattle shaped like a lion. Jack has an undiagnosed condition, which doctors suspect is due to a faulty gene, which means he needs round-the-clock care. His brain hasn’t grown as fast as it should, and he has severe epileptic seizures which starve his brain of oxygen. He also has problems swallowing, and is unable to communicate.
“He’s non-verbal, and he doesn’t understand what you’re saying, but he can see and hear. If he sees some bells he’ll go for them, if you sing his favourite nursery rhymes he’ll smile. His lion rattle has always been his favourite – there was a time when it was the only thing he’d play with. So, when I was thinking about the book, I decided it would be about Jack and his favourite toy. I wrote it in between the medicines and feeds, or at 5.30am, when I had a spare hour. Even when I was in the car, I was thinking over the book.”
Rachel has self-published The Lion Who Lost His Courage as an e-book on Amazon. She came to Martin House’s parent and baby group and read the book to them.
“I’m really pleased with the end result, and when I came to read it at Martin House, everyone was really lovely and said they loved the book. I was worried that people wouldn’t like it, but it’s had lovely reviews, and I didn’t write it for that reason, it was to help me when I was feeling so down and lost.”
Rachel is currently working on her second book, and you can get a copy of The Lion Who Lost His Courage here.
The post Martin House mum publishes children’s book appeared first on Martin House.