Parenting small children can be challenging at the best of times. There are hundreds of books out there listing things for parents to do, but what happens when you’re in the real world, and things don’t go as planned?
Finding Victoria, from the Galway based author Kristin Ruane, is Peter Pan meets Mary Poppins…with the science of helping to understanding children.
Finding Victoria is a book for anyone who enjoys a story about connection, compassion, adventure, and magic!
The story follows Victoria, an adorable, yet stubborn child who meets her match when her mother, Valerie, decides to call a behavior analyst.
Kay is an experienced therapist who has been working with families for years, but she’s never met a girl quite like Victoria.
Kay works hard to untangle some of her challenging behaviors, and to teach Victoria her most hated task – writing.
Therapy takes a sudden turn when Kay immerses herself in Victoria’s play world and discovers her secret – she’s magic.
This book is a must have for parents, teachers, behaviour analysts, psychologists, and pretty much anyone who knows children.
Kristin Ruane is originally from New Jersey in the US, but for the past eight years has been living, studying and working in Galway.
Finding Victoria is a training guide for parents based on her expertise as in the field of Applied Behavioural Analysis.
“For a long time, I wrote fairytales. It never occurred to me to write about what I did for a living, until one day, I was talking with a parent that I was working with, and she told me, ‘You need to write about this!’,” Kristin explained.
“It was then that I realised I could combine my love of writing fairytales with my love of psychology, teaching and behaviour analysis. I’m hoping the book will help to increase awareness of the field of ABA, and offer support to parents that need it.”
Kristin moved to Galway, where her grandfather hails from in Mountbellew, to pursue her PhD in Applied Behavior Analysis at NUI Galway.
Over the course of those eight years she has also written, and now self-published this book, which she describes as “informative fiction”, merging elements of the real into the fantastical story.
“I’m fascinated by connection, it’s why my research was what it was, and it’s why I’ve written this book.”
“The world has changed so much, and I think we’re unaware of how much we’re disconnecting from each other, and ourselves.”
“We probably all have a lot to learn about why we do the things we do, and if we’re honest with ourselves, we probably all need a little hope and magic in our lives, too,” Kristin said.
While it is hoped that Finding Victoria will make its way to local bookstores, for now you can find the book at https://www.kickstarter.com/
