Military children who have lived with nine years of deployments often struggle to process and articulate their experiences. Last spring, Christina Piper and Melissa Seligman, two of the most poignant voices for military families (http://www.herwarhervoice.com), created a book that gives these children a voice.

A Heart Apart is different than other books aimed at this audience in that children customize their copy of the book with their own photos and text. A website guides these children through the creation and illustration of their own story.

“It gives children words to talk about what’s happening,” says Piper. “It helped me talk to my daughter and son about what they were feeling.” Her son even takes his copy to bed with him each night.

Life Captured, the publisher, provides a second copy to the service member free of charge and a portion of the proceeds go to military charities. An updated edition of A Heart Apart has just been issued. For the first time, civilians can help military families by donating books.

For more information or to order books, go to:  http://lifecaptured.com/site/a_heart_apart

To learn more about Piper and Seligman’s work, check out: http://www.herwarhervoice.com