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Strength, Courage and Confidence; What Facial Difference Teaches Us

P.A.L.S. Foundation's most recent success has been the publication of an autiobiographical account of one of its Board Members, Jennifer Wallace, about growing up with a hemangioma tumor. Jennifer had a large facial hemangioma that grew to the size of a 1/2 of a grapefruit by the time she was 4 months old. Jennifer's book, "Strength, Courage and Confidence; What Facial Difference Teaches Us" reveals her and her families struggles and successes with dealing with facial difference, hemangioma tumors and the social stigma of looking different. Read Book Review >>

Book Summary

From the person affected, like ripples in a lake ever widening, facial difference touches the lives of everyone. Family, friends, teachers, clergy and strangers on the street all have the opportunity to affect the life of someone with a facial difference.

These people can…
* inspire personal strength or destroy self-esteem
* instill a sense of courage to endure or force a surrender to a life of unhappiness
* encourage the confidence to succeed or make failure the only option

Ultimately, these characteristics must be present within all of us.

For a person striving to overcome facial difference, strength, courage and confidence are even more valuable.

In her book, “Strength, Courage and Confidence,” Jennifer reflects on looking different as a child and teenager. She talks about fitting in, or not, about teasing, about how her parents worked with teachers to be sure Jennifer got the most from her education and how the teacher should handle the teasing Jennifer would receive inevitably from classmates.

Jennifer also combed through research on the medical and psycho-social aspects of hemangiomas and the impact of facial difference on child development. In her book, she offers parents tips and tools for helping their child navigate the sometimes rough waters of being the kid who looks different.