Susan Schaefer Bernardo
Author & Teacher
Windows Facilitator
Point Arena, California
Hello from one half of the picture-book-creating team of Susan Schaefer Bernardo (author) and Courtenay Fletcher (illustrator). We are two moms who first met during a Mommy and Me class in 2004, when our little ones were toddlers. Over the years, our friendship and our indie picture book company have grown up and evolved right along with our children!
We created Sun Kisses, Moon Hugs in 2012 when we were both struggling with grief and loss. One of Courtenay’s closest friends died of breast cancer, leaving behind a heartbroken 5-year-old daughter. I was going through a painful divorce at the time, struggling to reassure my distressed young sons that even when physically apart due to joint custody, we’d still be connected by love.
When we feel grief, despair, loss, confusion, depression, or sorrow, oftentimes we can feel better just through the process of making something…
During one of our mom-to-mom (and heart-to-heart!) talks, Courtenay recalled a moment from her own childhood when her mother told her they could send each other hugs and kisses via the moon. That image sparked me to write a long poem about the many ways nature provides healing and connection…and that poem inspired Courtenay to create illustrations. We soon realized we had a book-to-be in our hands — a way to transform our own grief into a tangible tool not only for those close to us, but for children everywhere. So with the help of friends and family, we followed our dream and published that book.
Courtenay Fletcher and Susan Schaefer Bernardo.
Creative expression is a powerful source of emotional healing, a way to bring hope and light back into our lives after tough times. Music, dance, and movement, visual arts, poetry, crafting, connecting with nature, writing, and illustrating are valuable, engaging ways to make meaning out of circumstances that sometimes make no sense. When we feel grief, despair, loss, confusion, depression, or sorrow, oftentimes we can feel better just through the process of making something with our hands, singing words from our heart, beating our pain out onto the skin of a drum, or sitting quietly under a tree or on a beach reflecting on the cycles of life surrounding us.
In 2013, we co-created an art project with AWBW to help participants heal from loss and separation anxiety. Older kids, teens and grown-ups can benefit from this book and workshop, too. We’ve learned from many readers and past art workshop participants that our book isn’t only for little ones. We all have an inner child — and picture books can be a powerful tool for accessing that part of us. This workshop provides participants of all ages a means of acknowledging and honoring grief and using art to re-connect to loved ones we’ve lost.
It’s our hope that the Sun Kisses, Moon Hugs worksheet included here will help with the healing process on multiple levels: as an opportunity to “feel the feelings,” as a reminder that we are always connected through nature, and through the therapeutic practice of the art-making itself. We invite you to use the worksheet (or any art materials at hand!) to create your own sun kisses artwork, and use your art as a tangible reminder that we are always connected to the ones we love.
Our book and art workshop serves:
- Parents, Family, Caregivers, and Friends seeking to deepen bonds of attachment and to comfort children in need of TLC, for any reason (divorce, loss of a beloved person or pet, parental deployment or incarceration, etc)
- Teachers and Librarians who need books and activities to ease separation anxiety when school starts and help children develop social skills, EQ and emotional resilience
- Therapists, Social Workers, Child Life Specialists, and Grief Counselors who work with children (and adults!) experiencing grief, loss, separation anxiety, foster care, immigration, natural disasters, abuse, addiction, COVID-related loss and other traumatic issues
- Bereavement Counselors, Child Life Specialists, and Hospice Workers helping families facing the death of a parent, sibling, or other loved one
- Any human with an inner child (that’s EVERYONE!)
Whatever your role, thank you for choosing to do this incredibly important work to heal and strengthen hearts in our communities. Sun Kisses, Moon Hugs is a book that came from our hearts and has a purpose: to help children (and your inner child!) feel loved, inspired, and connected, in a world that can sometimes be hard. We are so honored to be a part of AWBW’s amazing programs and hope that our book and AWBW art workshop will be an ongoing resource for you. A simple picture book and a “window of time” for self-expression can offer very effective healing for all ages.
xoxo Susan
Susan Schaefer Bernardo
Author & Teacher
Windows Facilitator
Point Arena, California
To learn more about our books, please visit Inner Flower Child. We’ve always got lots of free downloadable activities and books, of course, on our website!
Use this worksheet to explore your personal grief and connections.
Download Worksheet in English and Spanish
Want to help people feel loved, inspired, and connected though art?
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A Window Between Worlds (AWBW) supports hundreds of direct service organizations across the country to incorporate creative expression into their work with trauma survivors. With this blog we uplift the voices of our art workshop facilitators and participants. We invite you to take in this perspective, notice what resonates and explore how it may fit into your life.