Dr. Mom Saves the World

Cover Page
Mia talks to her mom on the phone during her mom's break in between seeing patients.
Mia plays with a teddy bear while her brother teaches her about Covid-19
Mia goes on a walk with her brother, wearing a mask snugly over her nose and mouth to keep from spreading germs.

Inspiration

We, Ezra and Sarina, are a sibling duo who are taking on extra responsibilities to help out in the house, including caring for our little sister, Rosie, who is 3. Since our mother is an essential healthcare worker as well as a medical school student, Rosie has lots of questions about why she can't stay home like us. Ezra and I wrote and illustrated this book together with little Rosie in mind, and we hope that we can share this resource with many more kids across the country who are struggling to process and understand all the changes around us.

What it does

This purpose of this book is twofold. First, there is a significant emphasis on reassurance and emotional processing. The main character, Mia, is grappling with the uncertainty of the pandemic as well as the changes to her routine and family structure. Although she misses her mom, she finds a support network in her brother, and she puts her emotional energy toward "helping" solve the health crisis from home with preventative measures. Secondly, this book introduces some concepts that may be tough to explain, including viruses, pandemics, social distancing, and preventative health measures, like hand washing and a balanced diet.

How I made it

I drafted the book and "tested" the story on Rosie, my younger sister, to see what language and activities helped her comprehension of the situation. I used this "field research," so to speak, to craft the story. I also did some literature review research online, reviewing some scholarship from the field of Narrative Medicine and Developmental Psychology to make sure that the writing and language was age-appropriate and that the story has a resolution that is satisfying to a young, developing mind. An amazing resource during this time was my Emory college Biology 142 class with Dr. Megan Cole, who has taught us about Immune Systems and Viruses during this semester. I was very excited to utilize my school materials for this project.

Challenges I ran into

With limited tools, it was a bit difficult to edit and manipulate images as we inserted them into the document. Neither Ezra nor I are professionals in the field, so this was a learning experience for both of us. Regardless of the outcome, we hope that we can help other young kids like our sister process and get through this challenging time.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

I am so incredibly proud of my brother, who is barely 16, for illustrating this book. I am also very happy that I can confidently say this book is backed by quite a bit of research, and I even "beta-tested" it with a mental health worker, who praised our story for its adversity reframing.

What I learned

A little teamwork goes a long way!

What's next for Dr. Mom Saves the World

We are excited to share this story, and Ezra and I are already back to the drawing board, thinking up our next project!

Thank you for this opportunity!

Because we had to lower the image quality of the eBook to meet the size requirements of uploading, we have have attached a link to the full manuscript!