Guest Blogger, Kat Harrison, Author of Migraine and Mia
Mia lives with chronic migraine. Believe it or not, a migraine is more than just a headache. Mia’s chronic migraine often makes her body feel like a full-on pain parade with a marching band behind her eyeballs! Sometimes she even sees dots, stripes, and a whole kaleidoscope of colors. While chronic migraine really is no fun at all, there are small ways that friends and family can help when one strikes. Written with humor and pizzazz, Migraine and Mia is the perfect way to educate children about chronic migraine, an often-misunderstood health condition, and what family and friends can do to better help support those who live with it.
Inspiration for The Book
Award-winning author Kat Harrison was diagnosed with chronic migraine when she was 15. Kat struggles to remember a time when she wasn’t in pain every single day. For such a common condition, migraine is incredibly misunderstood. There are significantly more symptoms than people realize, and a variety of migraine types that exist. When Harrison was looking at the picture book market, there was a huge hole in books that accurately portray chronic illness, chronic pain, and disability — so her daily life inspired her to write them. Picture books are such a foundational format for bringing both depth and levity to serious topics.
What would you like children and their parents to take away from this story?
Harrison hopes to educate readers that migraine is so much more than just a headache! That statement is a large premise to the story — this idea that a migraine is a full-body test in pain and endurance, and there are small ways family and friends can help. Kat wants the book to entertain as well as educate. She believes that there is a huge stigma against health books — that they’re “boring” or “too niche.” She is proving with each book that this is simply not true. It’s possible to tackle something like a diagnosis and still show mastery of craft and a creative arc, and Harrison has achieved that.
What gave you the idea to write about medical and health issues that children may encounter?
Harrison got the idea after taking many lukewarm trips to the library. In most children’s collections, there are a very limited number of fictional picture books that tackle health conditions with honesty and realism. While there is a definite place in the canon for books that center on animals and general hospital experiences, Harrison wanted to take it one step further and write from the perspective of a patient. There is no substitute for health stories written by people who actually live them.
Author Bio
Kat Harrison is the award-winning author of Surgery on Sunday and Migraine and Mia. She’s a chronic illness advocate from Michigan and has shared her story with organizations like the American Migraine Foundation and the National Headache Foundation, as well as outlets like Real Simple and The Mighty. Much like Mia (but a little bit older), she has lived with chronic migraine for over eighteen years.
We will be giving away a copy of Migraine and Mia to one lucky winner.
Choose one or more ways to enter:
1. Sign up for email notifications at ChildLifeMommy.com and leave a comment below.
2. Facebook: Follow Child Life Mommy and tag two friends.
3. Facebook: Follow XOKatHarrison and leave a comment about the giveaway.
4. Instagram: Follow @ChildLifeMommy and @XOKat, and tag two friends in the post.
Good Luck, the winner will be chosen on 12/15/21.
Related Posts
5 Tips to Help Your Child at the Doctor
7 Tips to Help Your Child at the Dentist
