The Storybook Project

The Storybook Project is a labor of love inspired by two young mothers of young children, who lived with Stage IV breast cancer in Portland, Oregon. Chelsea Harper and Brook Irwin came from professional backgrounds of counseling and education. They found each other at a conference for young survivors, where they discovered that they had both created a book for their own kids after not finding the resources they needed. The storybook is a helpful tool for moms dealing with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The Storybook Project was founded to create a personalized book called Mama Has Cancer. The book has fill-in-the-blank opportunities, so any family facing breast cancer can create a book that mirrors their experience. It is designed to touch on the key talking points needed for a child to understand what is happening. This helps the child with transitions and changes as mama deals with treatment options and potential side effects. Families look different: they include fathers, grandparents, siblings, neighbors, and other people. The beautiful illustrations by Penny Hood were designed so that diverse readers can see themselves in the book's pages. This video was produced for their Kickstarter campaign. Their goal was to raise $15,000. They succeeded in raising over $19,000 to begin creating the book.
Chelsea and Brook are no longer with us, but their spirits live on in a very tangible way with The Storybook Project.