After her husband, Nathaniel, suffered a brain injury in 2008 after a near fatal car accident, Battle Ground resident Ginille Forest decided she wanted to help others dealing with the same issues surrounding family members with brain injuries, so she decided to write a book.
Forest’s first published book, Daddy’s Different: A Look at Brain Injury Through a Child’s Eyes, focuses on children dealing with the effects of a parent’s brain injury.
“I have two young sons who have been deeply affected by this injury (father’s brain injury),” Forest said. “There were no resources out there for me to help explain this difficult and invisible injury to my children, so I created one myself. I hope this book will help the many other families out there unfortunately facing the same struggles my own children faced.”
Forest, 32, said her book focuses on the emotional differences displayed in a parent with a traumatic brain injury (TBI). While a TBI affects the brain in many ways, she said the most obvious and confusing symptom to a child is the emotional change that happens in their parent.
“From anger to depression, to fatigue and confusion, the emotional changes a parent undergoes can be quite scary for a young child,” Forest said. “Daddy’s Different aims to explain the changes in a simple way and remind the readers that their parent still loves them despite their new behavior. Even though it’s a children’s book, Daddy’s Different is really a book for anyone hoping for insight on such a difficult subject.”
Forest has lived in Battle Ground for 10 years now and she and Nathaniel have two sons, ages 10 and 5. Aside from writing about more serious subjects such as brain injuries, Forest said she loves to write fiction and is currently working on her first novel. She is also currently a student at Washington State University Vancouver and is working towards her bachelor’s degree in English. Forest also runs a blog, www.daddysdifferent.wordpress.com, where she writes posts attempting to explain the struggles of brain injury recovery.
“I have been writing since I was 4 and it is all I ever wanted to do,” she said.
In addition to writing, Forest also enjoys reading, hiking, playing soccer and spending time with her family.
Forest’s book, Daddy’s Different, is currently available for sale at www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com. Those interested in the book can also find a link to it on Forest’s blog, www.daddysdifferent.wordpress.com.
The illustrator of Daddy’s Different, Vivian Mattila Walikainen, is also a Battle Ground resident.
