BRIGHT DAYS, DARK STORMS

I am your child’s brain. And I need you to hear me from the inside.You see the explosion over something small. The meltdown when it’s time to leave the park. The joy so big it can’t be contained, and an hour later, a sadness that seems to swallow the whole house. You’ve been told your child does it on purpose, that they need more discipline, that you’re too soft. None of that is what’s happening in here.In here, I feel everything with the volume turned all the way up. My brakes are still being installed. And when the storm hits, I’m the first one it hits, from the inside.In Bright Days, Dark Storms, I speak directly to you, the mother, the father, the grandmother, the person who holds your child up every day, and I hand you my wiring so you know where to step. You’ll understand:Why your child can be radiant one day and overwhelmed the nextWhat happens inside me when joy, sadness, anger, fear and frustration arrive at full forceWhy transitions feel like the ground disappearing beneath my feetWhat switches off first when I’m overwhelmed, and why 'calm down' doesn’t reach meAnd I don’t leave you alone with what you already know. At the end, María Mauldin, who spent twenty years alongside families and caregivers, hands you the tools I need from you: routines that hold the day together, limits that protect your child, words that reach me, an environment that helps me calm down, and the way to lend me your calm so I can find my own again. You’ll also find a Scenario Guide for the hardest moments, a page to read tonight if your child is falling apart in the next room, and a page for the grandmother, the uncle, or whoever picks your child up when you’re not there.There is nothing wrong with your child. I work differently, not deficiently. This book does not put your child in a box or give them a name. It tells you how I work, so you can respond with understanding instead of punishment, without giving up the limits that protect us both.And one more thing: inside every storm, inside every 'go away,' there is love. It didn’t leave. It just got covered up.For children ages 4 to 12. Book 1 of the Intense Brains series. Each book can be read on its own, in any order.Welcome to my inner world.