Turning Away from Suicide

Marlene Harper has written a book designed to help parents, grandparents and guardians give their children a mental and emotional lift when it's really needed and providing the tools to do it. She's talking about children who have had some earth shattering experiences and need to find their way out of the darkness and into the light. She also talks about the epidemic issue of suicide in general and child and teen suicide in particular and of how to deal with a life of a loved one that has been stopped.

Her work with children in turning things around using puppets, a compliment of life saving tools and a formula called POPS is the basis for this book, "How To Give Your Kids A Lift". The puppet shows that the kids write are meant to solve problems through creative thinking while also presenting a moral similar to those found in Aesops Fables. Some of the themes they've dealt with are friendships, bullying, drugs, death and fun stuff like Einstein caught in a shrinking machine, friendly dragons, pirates, maritime stories and being kind to your customers. They're given a carte blanche as long as their play solves a particular problem.

Marlene, a proud mother of four, has been recognized by a number of local organizations for her work in helping one child at a time, and has received many awards including "Woman of the Year" (American Biographical Institute), an International Peace Prize (United Cultural Convention) and the Who's Who of America (in Manhattan).