Elephant in the Living Room: A Children's Book About Substance Abuse

by Jill M Hastings, MS, Marion H Typpo PhD

An illustrated story to help children understand and cope with the problem of alcoholism or other drug addiction in the family.

Imagine an ordinary living room...chairs, couch, coffee table, a TV set and in the middle a LARGE, GRAY ELEPHANT. Imagine the people living in this house walk through it very carefully around the elephant. Nobody ever says anything about the elephant. Since no one ever talks about the elephant, you know that you're not supposed to talk about it either, and you don't.

Living in a family where drinking is a problem is a lot like living with an elephant in the living room. This book is a way to begin talking about things that are hard to talk about.