Writing a Patron's Book

[Jzmackenzie]

Our young guests are writing a book about their experiences of living through a house fire. Safe in our yard, their mother oversees their writing and drawing. As a special education teacher, I have learned that facing this trauma head-on heals. That seems to be the case here. Aren't they adorable?

Three volunteers are helping us to translate this book, but the full weight of the translation is falling on Jolene's shoulders. It is quite a task to make sure Patron's get to know the girls and their parents and, yet, in 40 years the girls will feel that the entire process was handled with kindness and caring. Bilingual is also a bi-cultural exercise. We are all learning a lot about how to express the same idea in two languages and still make the same point. It is a challenge!

The book is going to be filled with photos. We have have five years of history with the girls growing up, including photos of the house in 2009.