This short booklet provides an overview of Janet Callahan's experience in the NICU. It also includes pointers to online resources for pagan parents with sick kids. Since my daughter was born with a heart condition and spent time in the NICU after she was born and again after her heart surgery, I empathize with Callahan's experience and I appreciate that she's willing to write about it.
Callahan spends a little time talking about what to expect in the NICU, then gives suggestions on how to unobtrusively bring ritual into the hospital setting. The environment in a hospital can feel sterile and unfriendly, and the machines that are attached to the children are at once amazing and terrifying, so it's helpful if somebody briefs you on what to expect. I think it's especially useful to hear directly from somebody who's been through a NICU experience as a parent.
I would've found this booklet helpful while my daughter was in hospital, but it's very brief and left me wanting more. I want to hear more about her personal experience with the NICU staff and the hospital environment. I want more concrete suggestions for spellwork or meditative exercises that can fit into the NICU environment. I found some of what I was looking for by going to Callahan's blog, which is one of the online resources included at the end of the book. I think the author has much more that she could say, and I hope that she one day finds the time to write it down.
I had a supportive family living close by while my daughter was in the NICU, but not everyone is as lucky. I feel that the best part of this booklet is that it reminds me that I'm not alone and that other people have had to struggle with the challenges of having a very sick kid.
~review by Ramon Arjona, with Lisa MC Sherry
Author: Janet Callahan
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2012
pp. 24, $4.95
available through Amazon.com
http://www.ourlittleacorn.com
