Tuna Fish Thanksgiving

Reach for this book when your middle-schooler is struggling with the 'parentification' that often follows a separation, or when they feel they must be the emotional glue holding the family together. The story follows thirteen-year-old Gilda as she navigates the upheaval of her parents' divorce. While her mother and father are preoccupied with their own transitions, Gilda takes it upon herself to care for her younger siblings and preserve the sanctity of family traditions like Thanksgiving. It is a poignant, realistic look at responsibility and the burden of being the 'reliable' child during a crisis. Parents will find it a helpful tool for acknowledging a child's feelings of displacement while opening a door to discuss how roles change within a family in flux.