As the Director of the National Family Center of Excellence for Mental Health and Substance Use, the National Family Support Technical Assistance Center (NFSTAC) , families across the nation approach our center asking for assistance finding support for their children in their communities. This educational biography ties the story of one family to the services that are or should be available. It is a book I would recommend to families seeking a connection and support in their community and gives families and providers alike the knowledge to understand what person-centered, best practice should be for children of all ages.
Although all family stories are unique, families who read this book will relate to Claudette and Aaron’s journey. As a mother, I too can relate to Claudette’s guilt and deep introspection on how her actions caused hurt and pain in Aaron, I ponder those very same thoughts about each of my children, especially when they are experiencing behavioral health challenges.
These are natural feelings all parents experience and every parent who reads this book to find answers for their own family will find a little bit of themselves in many of Claudette’s words. Yes, many of our stories as family members are very similar to the one Claudette and Aaron tell, with one major exception, the authors are indeed a family with lived experience , but Claudette is not only a parent with lived experience, she is a highly gifted and trained university clinical professor and occupational therapist who has worked with and for families for over 3 decades and who can tell this story with exceptional deft and concrete evidentiary based practices and best practices of what happened, what should have happened and what needs to happen in the future.
This riveting cannot put down biography, is easily readable for all interested in stories about families, mental health and substance use, “No Saints Here” unfolds in three sections that includes the story, epidemiology and solutions. As a seasoned educator, Claudette breaks down her story in honest gut-wrenching accuracy for policy innovators, mental health and substance use workforce students, and yes, most importantly for families. For students, this textbook is for budding professionals who want concrete examples of family life, clinical theories, and evidence based best practices to build on their skills to serve families ethically and wholistically- for families this is a handbook for parents searching for information looking for tools and ideas on how to advocate and wrap around their loved ones. Claudette educates the reader through her own story , both success and failures and through the eyes of her son as he matures and experiences his life and subsequent loss due to his genetics, environment and the policies that get in the way of true individual and family recovery.
Ironically, Claudette reflects on letting her mother down by the way her life has unfolded, she writes about her mom, “She did see me as her “gifted” child and held high expectations for me that I did not seem to ever live up to.” What Claudette gets wrong is what her mother always knew, Claudette is a gifted individual, and this book lives up to her mother’s expectations. An exceptionally good read, I highly recommended it to anyone in the community who is looking to understand Mental Illness, Health, and the Cost of Ignorance for our families.
Gail Cormier Director National Family Support Technical Assistance Center (NFSTAC)