SUE GLADER
Author, Nowhere Hair
Sue Glader's life as a young mother of a one-year old boy changed in 1999 with a breast cancer diagnosis. Within weeks, this Stanford graduate and Mill Valley writer started chemotherapy and quickly adjusted to dramatically less hair. First she tried to color her hair, and next went to the salon with her husband and son to shave her wispy locks and consider wearing scarves and wigs while she waited for new hair to grow. Along the way she noticed that young children took note of her altered appearance, and in response to their curiosity, Sue wrote a sixteen-stanza poem. This poem was the "gleam of a book," that would explain to children why a mother loses her hair during cancer treatment and how she and her child would still be OK.
Fast forward to 2010, Ms. Glader's toddler son is now an adolescent, and her groundbreaking book, Nowhere Hair is published. This award-winning children's book explains a loved one’s cancer to kids ages 3 - 10 in a fresh, honest and non-scary way. It has won the Gold Medal award from the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards (health category), and is recommended by school counselors and LIVESTRONG. Nowhere Hair is available in bookstores, at the MGH Cancer Resource Center, and in more than 100 cancer treatment centers nationwide. This beautifully illustrated story takes the lighthearted tone of a Dr. Seuss book, and reassures children that mom's cancer is not contagious, nor is it anybody's fault. At the same time, the book previews what children may expect if their mother is tired and needs more rest, and also lets them know that regardless of her illness, she will love them just the same.
Zero Breast Cancer is pleased to present the story of Sue Glader and the inspiring "healing aid” that she has created as a healing partner to mothers with breast cancer, young children and families. As a woman who has survived breast cancer and is living life fully, Sue's life philosophy is an apt reminder for adults: "Squeeze life. Be brave. Take risks. Amazingness happens when you do!"
