Brighten Your Day

A New Children's Book Every Parent Should Own. It's Actually Saving Lives

July 9, 2014

A Secret Safe To Tell is a children's book that is not metaphorically saving lives, but actually saving them.

Via MammaMia

Classic-Jojo.com

Here are a few lines from the book:

"He said I would get into big trouble if I told anyone… I never wanted to be bad.

He said I would upset a lot of people if they knew what I had done… I didn't want to make anyone cry.

He made hurts in place where Band-Aids could not reach… I tried to heal the pain but I wasn't strong enough."

These are thoughts no child should ever have, but it happens.

The book follows a little girl's thought process as she makes an adult friend, decides to trust and even love him, hides the way he hurts her, and ultimately realizes it's safe to tell a grown-up what she's been through.

Naomi Hunter wrote it for girls like herself. She's 30 years old now and still trying to deal with the trauma of being abused as a child. As so many good people say, Naomi tells me that when she wrote this book, she'd be happy if it changed the life of just one child.

That one child has already come forward.

Just yesterday, Naomi got a text message from a friend saying that a little girl has told her parents she was being abused by a family friend, right after reading A Secret Safe To Tell.

"That was a huge moment for me, I was overwhelmed with emotion," Naomi told Kate Leaver for MammaMia.com. "From day one of writing, I knew that if I helped just one child feel less alone, less scared, less isolated, then I'd be happy. When I got that news, I ran to my husband and I said, 'we've reached the one, we did it'. Now that child doesn't have to go through any more days of fear. She won't be in my situation at 30, trying to come to terms with it now. That was so healing for me."

It's important to note that this is a gentle book that encourages children to talk about any confusing feelings that they might be experiencing, as a way of healing. It's simple enough that they can identify the feelings and the consequences of abuse, without being graphic or terrifying.

You can order the book online and it's also out in all good bookshops.

Via MammaMia, JoJo Publishing