A dragon in your heart - Sophie LeBlanc

How do you explain to a five year old that her mother has cancer? This book grew out of the experiences of Sophie LeBlanc who, at the age of twenty-eight had a successful career in children's TV programming and, as the mother of a five year old daughter, felt that life was smiling on her.

For a year she had been feeling a lump in her left breast. To the doctor she consulted it was only a harmless lump. It continued to grow, however, and gradually changed. An exploratory operation confirmed that she had advanced breast cancer.

The news came suddenly and threw her life into disarray. Thunderstruck, this active, energetic woman quickly realised that her little daughter was just as distressed as she was. Sophie was at a loss for words, the right words. Her first reaction was to find them outside herself, for example in a book that would help to guide her. But none of the books she looked at were meant for children.

So, during her long hospital stay, Sophie undertook to write for her daughter a short, explanatory book. A few sentences, a few drawings simply put together to explain the situation to her as clearly as possible. Her daughter carried it around with her for weeks on end. The little book became A Dragon in Your Heart.