08/22/2025
Beneath the Shimmering Surface – A Children’s Story about Addiction & Hope
The past five years have been a journey of breaking down, rebuilding, grieving, learning, and growing - for me, for my children, and for those closest to us.
We have walked through deep pain, loneliness, anger, and fear. As a family, we’ve faced crack addiction - and like every serious illness, it affects everyone, not just the one struggling.
Through it all, I eventually found the strength to forgive and to hold love in my heart again for the father of my children. I am deeply grateful to my family, his mother, our dear friends (you know who you are), therapists, organizations, schools, and everyone who stood by us during one of the most heartbreaking seasons of our lives.
Everything escalated right before Christmas five years ago. In those early days, I was paralyzed - desperate to find literature that could help me explain addiction to my children. There was very little available, especially for younger kids - despite this growing crisis claiming more young lives every year.
That’s when Beneath the Shimmering Surface was born - from the need to transform pain into something meaningful, something that might help others walking a similar path.
This book is designed to spark honest, age-appropriate conversations with children about what drugs are, how they work, and how easily they can take hold. It’s a book free from judgment and shame.
My hope is for families to know:
• You are not alone.
• It’s okay for your kids to feel what they feel.
• It’s safe - and necessary - to talk about emotions, even when it’s messy or uncomfortable.
Because this is how we build resilience.
This is how we nurture emotional intelligence.
This is how we help our children trust their inner voice.
Beneath the Shimmering Surface – A Children’s Story about Addiction & Hope is a step toward that - toward sitting with emotions, speaking our pain, and being heard without judgment.
I also want to share that the father of the children is in full support of this book. He was a wonderful father and partner until addiction took hold of his body and mind. He is a beautiful, funny, warm and very smart soul, and we had a loving life together. He always provided for us. Today, he’s trying very hard to heal. It is a roller coaster. We wish him all the strength in the world to recover and reclaim the life he deserves.
As for me and the kids - we continue therapy and learning. We're all on a healing journey. One of the biggest lessons: Learning to love with healthy boundaries.
Please share this announcement with your community - it may help someone you don’t even know is struggling.
You can find my book worldwide on Amazon:
Paperback https://mybook.to/dfszPz
Hardcover https://mybook.to/5skBv
Another option for US+CAN only:
https://shop.ingramspark.com/b/084?params=1dymh4J92kr3Px2kri97yTbNdUW4XPsB1D7wiV1XkDJ
If you choose to order through Amazon, it would mean a lot if you could leave a review and rating after receiving it. Your words help others find the book.
Thank you for being part of this journey.
With love,
Janine
A heartfelt thank you to:
• Brenda Bakker, Euan Harness, and Polek Rybczynski - for your beautiful work bringing my story to life through the video footage. Your care, sensitivity, and creativity helped give voice to a journey that’s hard to put into words.
• Nicola Jones - for doing the final proofread and ensuring every word carries clarity and purpose.
Your contributions mean more than I can express. Thank you for helping me share this story with the world.
