My Inner Doggie Is Growling

A Doggone Magical Adventure to Name & Tame Big Anger

Welcome! By selecting this fun, interactive book, you have joined a movement of heart-centered grown-ups committed to making the world a kinder, safer place. Children face increasing stress and aggression, sometimes leading to self-harm or harming others. Inspired by my students, I was moved to write My Inner Doggie Is Growling (the first in a series) to reverse this worrisome trend by starting with a misunderstood emotion: anger. Angry kids need help, and so do their grown-ups! Drawing on my experiences as a parent, teacher, school psychologist and child trauma specialist, I share unique secrets for taming that "inner doggie" that is sometimes acted out; and sometimes stifled. Anger isn't bad. It's necessary for setting boundaries.

As a Somatic Experiencing® therapist*, I've seen how discovering the physical sensations linked to emotions fosters self-awareness. Using crayons or markers to map a variety of feelings on the "Inner Doggie" and "Gingerbread Cookie Kid" allow kids to notice their nervous and sensory-motor systems' comfortable and uncomfortable sensations. Drawing and coloring are easy ways to express what words cannot. These activities offer non‐threatening access to the body's story, where stress and anger live. By exploring, discovering, befriending and naming the physical sensations underlying charged emotions, kids develop regulation skills. Aunt Nellie provides wise and magical coloring guidelines that include both internal resources and challenges. When kids share their sensation and emotion maps with a caring adult, they are empowered to settle, ground and find calm in the eye of the storm. Self-awareness emerges during the process of drawing, which causes a pause long enough for kids to sense the fire in the belly and tense muscles ready to fight-thus interrupting a cycle of unconscious impulsive behavior. With mindful consciousness kids grow in emotional maturity rather than "flipping their lids," as Dr. Dan Siegel calls it! This book is perfect for families, educators, and therapeutic settings.