The Unsafe Neighbor
This is the first book of three in The Creating Personal Safety Series. This series was designed to help parents have the tough, but necessary conversations needed to help prevent sexual abuse. It is designed to educate parents, children and youth about the realities of being groomed, specifically what grooming might look like. It depicts ‘Jay’ assisting a neighbour/co-worker of his father, with his new puppies. The boy falls in love with a puppy, asks to buy it, but is told no because they already have one new baby. The neighbour then offers Jay a job helping out with the puppies until they are all sold, but then agrees to keep ‘Jet’ as long as Jay agrees to keep helping. Later he recruits Jay for some other jobs that create alone time with him at his cabin. The ill-intended neighbor is seen to have his hand inside Jay’s sleeping bag as Jay looks uncomfortable. Jay tells his parents what happened. His offender is arrested and they adopt the puppy when the offender goes to jail.
Pawsitively Me: My Healing Journey
This book is the second of the three-book Creating Personal Safety Series. It was written by trained trauma therapists. It was designed to help parents’ and other caregivers educate their children about the strong emotions and confusion children may experience after being abused. It depicts a child, ‘Dylan’ who is in therapy with ‘Dr. Jo’and her therapy dog, ‘Rugby’. Throughout the story, Dylan relays her experience of attending to therapy and building strategies to heal from past trauma. In therapy Dylan learns healthy coping skills that help her manage her strong emotions and set healthy boundaries. The details of her abuse are not shared but focus is placed on hope and resilience. Dylan has a good experience in therapy and builds a positive relationship with her therapist and Rugby (the therapy dog), demonstrating that healing can occur after difficult times.
Unfriend Her!
This book is the third in the “Creating Personal Safety Series”. It is intended to educate youth and teens (and others who work with adolescents) about the risks of being exploited sexually by their peers and/or becoming a victim of human trafficking. It depicts a teen who innocently gets involved with a new friend who then invites her to a party. The party turns into a photo shoot. The photographers are friends of her older brother, boys with ill-intentions. There are no graphic images or details, but the story clearly relays what is taking place and role models what teens and youth should do if they ever find themselves in this situation. It has a good ending, supporting teens to be self-reflective and assertive when experiencing peer pressure. Psycho-educational pieces are included throughout. This book can be read by the youth alone or with a caregiver or therapist.