Move From Trauma to Healing…
One Emotion at a Time.
Official Launch Date - June 3rd!
From Rollercoasters to Carousels
An Emotional Support Guide to Healing for NICU, Bereaved, and Special Needs Parents
By Gigi Khonyongwa-Fernandez
About the Book
What do you do when a traumatic event crash lands into your world, completely turning it, you, and your emotions upside down and inside out, and propelling you into a seemingly endless, frightening, and spiraling emotional experience? Scream? Cry? Withdraw? Wonder can you survive it? Will you? These are some of the questions I repeatedly asked myself as a NICU, Bereaved, and Special Needs mother when trauma came knocking at my parenting door unannounced and unwanted. The same questions other parents like me, and really anyone who has ever experienced trauma, have also asked.
The emotional journey that NICU, Bereaved, and Special Needs parents experience, is often described as a continuous rollercoaster ride, full of jarring, traumatic, raw emotional twists, and turns you have no control over. The aim and trajectory of this book is to give you back some control and get you off this ride and onto one which I propose is a better one: The Carousel.
You may wonder why I chose this ride as a symbol of our destination. I did so because although the carousel is a ride that still moves, it does so at a slower, calmer, and more controlled pace. It feels less scary, and if there is an unexpected dip, it is not as deep, jarring, or wild, so you are more able to manage it. My hope is that you do so in a more intentional, healthier, and dare I say more joyful way. I will show you how as we walk together, alongside other parents and experts, to move you away from trauma and towards healing. One emotion at a time.
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From Rollercoasters to Carousels – An Emotional Support Guide to Healing for NICU, Bereaved, and Special Needs Parents is a heartbreakingly beautiful and poignant read. Through descriptive prose and analysis, author Khonyongwa-Fernandez created a near physical setting and invited me, as the reader, to join in her experience. The manuscript creates a great sense of engagement with not only the other’s life, but the lives of even more families impacted by a NICU journey. I couldn’t help but feel the sense of urgency, grief, and ultimately hope in Khonyongwa-Fernandez’s words. I believe this book will start a powerful conversation on the need for a trauma-informed approach in healthcare settings. Moreover, it exemplifies how the delivery of medical diagnosis can be conveyed with honesty and compassion as parents grapple with and grow in their dreams for their children.
What Readers Had to Say
Beautifully done. It’s informational, relatable, and friendly. It’s gentle, yet you ask good questions to get the readers thinking and diving deeper. I really did feel you walking alongside the reader throughout.
The book was engaging, compelling, and informative. I have not lost a child, but if I had, I would be appreciative beyond measure of the help her book offers. She is living out 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. But she doesn’t stop at comforting others. Her goal is to help them be healed of the pain.
The amount of work and emotion that has gone into this book is mind-boggling to me. I thank God that Gigi has written it. May others be blessed and healed.
What Readers Had to Say
From Rollercoasters to Carousels – An Emotional Support Guide to Healing for NICU, Bereaved, and Special Needs Parents is a heartbreakingly beautiful and poignant read. Through descriptive prose and analysis, author Khonyongwa-Fernandez created a near physical setting and invited me, as the reader, to join in her experience. The manuscript creates a great sense of engagement with not only the other’s life, but the lives of even more families impacted by a NICU journey. I couldn’t help but feel the sense of urgency, grief, and ultimately hope in Khonyongwa-Fernandez’s words. I believe this book will start a powerful conversation on the need for a trauma-informed approach in healthcare settings. Moreover, it exemplifies how the delivery of medical diagnosis can be conveyed with honesty and compassion as parents grapple with and grow in their dreams for their children.
Beautifully done. It’s informational, relatable, and friendly. It’s gentle, yet you ask good questions to get the readers thinking and diving deeper. I really did feel you walking alongside the reader throughout.
The book was engaging, compelling, and informative. I have not lost a child, but if I had, I would be appreciative beyond measure of the help her book offers. She is living out 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. But she doesn’t stop at comforting others. Her goal is to help them be healed of the pain.
The amount of work and emotion that has gone into this book is mind-boggling to me. I thank God that Gigi has written it. May others be blessed and healed.
Gigi Khonyongwa-Fernandez
Author
My Story
Gigi Khonyongwa-Fernandez is a trauma-informed leadership coach, consultant, and advocate specializing in neonatal/family-centered care, maternal-infant health, and organizational wellness. A mother to a surviving twin born four months prematurely and four angel babies, Gigi brings her lived experiences of trauma, healing, and resilience into her work. She is an ICF-accredited Professional Coach, a Trauma-Informed Certified Coach (TICC), and founder of GKF Coaching & Consulting and Families Blossoming LLC. With nearly 20 years in healthcare across two continents, she has worked with clients including the BBC, NHS, March of Dimes, EFCNI, and the US Department of Treasury. An international speaker and NICU/maternal-infant health advocate, she lives in London with her husband and son. From Rollercoasters to Carousels is her first book.
Feel free to connect with Gigi at: [email protected]