Editorial Reviews
Editorial Review by Philip Van Heusen for Reader's Favorite
Many people believe that anxiety is normal since it is so prevalent in today’s society. Kelly Jeanne Pittman’s wonderful book, Unleashing Happiness, shares the knowledge she learned while seeking ways to calm her child’s anxious thoughts. Kelly and her husband adopted a young girl from China who had experienced the trauma of being in different homes. While the principles in this book can help any parent improve their child’s life, I like that Kelly puts God’s love and grace in the center of all she learned. This is not a book you will pick up and read straight through. You will want to take time and digest all of Kelly’s wonderful wisdom. This book deals with many themes, including opposition, perfectionism, people-pleasing, anxiety, fear, trauma, catastrophizing, and more. Reading this book will equip you to help your child mold their brain into a joy-producing powerhouse.
I spent over forty years as a counselor and know the value of Kelly Jeanne Pittman’s book Unleashing Happiness. Kelly takes some difficult topics and beautifully explains them in layperson’s terms and gives wonderful illustrations from her life experiences. The information found in this great book helps readers understand that happiness is a choice and that we must face our fears and anxieties to overcome them. Using the skills Kelly shares, one can change one’s fearful attitude to hope and joy. Kelly explains the difference between chronic stress and trauma and teaches basic brain training skills. The author shows God as being central to change while not sounding preachy in any way. As a counselor, I highly recommend this book to all, especially parents.
Editorial Review by Cherubimaris Casino for Readers’ Favorite
Unleashing Happiness: How I Helped Free My Child from Anxious Thoughts is a timely and insightful book by Kelly Pittman. Readers are invited on a journey of the challenges and triumphs of raising an adopted child who struggled with severe anxiety. More than just a memoir, it's a guidebook for parents, urging them to approach their children with gentleness, patience, and enduring love. The author's recognition of her daughter as her "most important teacher" underscores the transformative power of the parent-child relationship, reminding readers of the profound lessons we can learn from those we seek to nurture and protect. The author's unwavering commitment to her child is evident from the outset as she navigates through her daughter's heart surgeries and the gradual emergence of debilitating anxiety.
The book shines in its honest portrayal of the day-to-day struggles of parenting a child with anxiety. The author vividly describes how even the smallest changes in routine or environment could trigger her daughter's anxious responses, providing readers with a visceral understanding of the challenges faced by both a mother and a daughter. What sets this book apart is Pittman's approach to addressing her daughter's anxiety. Rather than simply chronicling their experiences, the author delves deep into the psychology of stress, marking a turning point in her journey as she learns to enter her child's world. This shift in perspective allows for a more empathetic and effective approach to managing her daughter's anxiety, offering valuable insights for parents facing similar challenges.
Unleashing Happiness is a must-read for parents of children with anxiety, adoptive parents, and anyone interested in the complex dynamics of their children and family relationships. Kelly Pittman's years of research, sacrifice, and enduring love have resulted in a work that is both deeply personal and universally relatable. The author not only shares her personal experiences but also debunks common myths surrounding anxiety, providing readers with valuable information and strategies they can apply in their own lives.
Editorial Review by Ibrahim Aslan for Readers’ Favorite
Anxiety is a psychological cage that traps children, blocking them from embracing and enjoying life to the fullest. Navigating this space can prove to be stressful and confusing for most families. Unleashing Happiness by Kelly Pittman will help make this process simpler. Pittman's book outlines the nature of anxiety, how to recognize its forms and appearances, and how parents can help their children overcome stressful and anxiety-driven thoughts. She combines a mental health perspective, cognitive/behavioral strategies, and a faith-based approach to produce results. Her book includes techniques like understanding emotions, nurturing a healthy brain, fostering healthy attachment in your child, spending quality time together as a family, building supportive relationships, creating meaningful change in your own and your child's life, setting and maintaining boundaries, and developing your spiritual life.
Unleashing Happiness covers anxiety in its different forms, thereby providing relief and hope to distressed parents and their children struggling with this disorder. This guide can help children overcome other issues like panic attacks, fears, and perfectionism. Here's some more good news—all the activities are achievable and engaging. Kelly Pittman's writing is emotional, educational, easy to follow, and detailed. She empathetically teaches her readers about the delicate balance of providing emotional care for anxious children without giving in to their adverse behaviors. I like that her techniques aren't intrusive on the child's well-being and take into account the child's emotional needs, individuality, and psychological development.
Unleashing Happiness is a must-read for any parent who has an anxious child, as well as educators and other professionals who work with children who present with anxiety-related disorders. Great book! I highly recommend it.