The Theiss’s Have Turned An Awful Tragedy Into a Greater Blessing
Sometimes from tragedy inspiration is born. Certainly Patricia Theiss never thought that a children’s book called Clarabelle the Cat Loses Her Hair would be hers…Having been diagnosed with breast cancer five years earlier and gone through a surgery, and the chemo and radiation treatments, Patricia thought she was safe from its return.Continued chemo and radiation made her very weak and wondering if she could survive. Everything seemed hopeless. That’s when her cat Clarabelle came to the rescue. One day Patricia was lying on the couch listless when Clarabelle suddenly jumped up and laid with her. Patricia knew her cat was trying to comfort her because Clarabelle never got up on the couch.
Soon after, her daughter Megan came for a visit and Patricia told her about Clarabelle’s ‘unusual’ behavior. Megan replied, “Mom. I think you have a book idea there.’ And so, with help from her husband Matt, and Megan and her children Zachary and Sarah, an outline for th
e book was formed.
Patricia knew she wanted the book to be for children, so the group decided to create a work of fiction with the cancer “patient” being a young girl named Patty. Clarabelle would then play the major role of Patty’s pet and loving friend trying to understand what has happened.
Finding an illustrator was a task until their own pastor’s wife from Parkview Christian Church was consulted and her drawings proved to be exactly what Patricia was looking for to not only convey the cat but to also establish the theme and mood of the book.
Much of the book is close to Patricia’s own experiences, including when she first lost her hair and had to wear a wig to work. Although most of her co-workers handled the situation appropriately, one laughed derisively at the wig on Patricia. This hurt and, told from Clarabelle’s perspective, when the neighbor cats laugh at her after she has been shaved is poignant.
Patricia and Matthew have two more books coming this fall, both continuing Clarabelle and Patty’s struggle with the cancer. Other books are planned which will feature solely Clarabelle.
For now (with Clarabelle, whenever possible), Patricia and Matt visit elementary schools, and day care and senior centers to tell Clarabelle’s (and Patricia’s) story. They also are involved with a number of benefit groups raising money for cancer research. This is just part of all they do to get the word out about cancer and Patricia’s struggle with it. Among those are book signings at Barnes and Noble, as well as Mother Hubbard’s with two dollars from every book sale going to cancer research.
