The Clown Doctor Chronicles (Probing the Boundaries Series)

The Hospital Clown Newsletter, Vol. 9, Nr. 1
it will inspire you …you will love this book (need this book)


Book Description
This is the first book in English to provide a close-up view of the emotional and rewarding experiences of clown-doctors working with hospitalized children. It describes the development of a new program in a pediatric hospital and all the challenges that confront clown-doctors. The book recounts work that takes place over a few months in 1999-2000. Most of the children that are described had been diagnosed with leukemia and other serious forms of cancer. They were hospitalized often and ran the risk of death. This book is a tale of love and humor and of dealing with great traumas and tragedy. It tells of the immense compassion and the amazing resilience of individuals in the most stressful and debilitating of circumstances. It is a small window looking onto what it is to be human with all our strengths and frailties and of how complete strangers can become bonded to one another through laughter and pain. The story presented here is based upon real case studies annotated with occasional commentaries to put these experiences into perspective. Above all else this book is a celebration and an homage to all the children, their parents and care-givers who have shared their lives with clown-doctors in many countries around the world. The Clown-Doctor Chronicles is written to ‘speak’ to people of all ages: men and women; professionals, trades people and homemakers in cities, towns and villages; for laughter and illness know no boundaries. It will be of particular interest to parents, artists in hospitals and anybody working with children (health care professionals, educators, psychologists). Contents: Clowns & Fools Come Out to Play: A Preface to the English Language Version Introduction 1. "Clowns here, are you joking?" 2. Inclownito 3. "You aren’t doctors" 4. "Guess what we do" 5. Atmospheres 6. La Mouche and Giraffe go exploring 7. "Ladies and Gentlemen, step right up!" 8. First dose of "Osteo-humorology" 9. "Balmy" 10. Three Little Words 11. Still able to giggle 12. Bobissimo 13. Trust 14. Clouds 15. Wings and Stars 16. Countless Metaphors 17. "Hallo, Miffter Momo!" 18. The Giraffe and the Dragonfly 19. The show must go on 20. "Choose Life!" 21. Our small tribe 22. Professor Pewpew levitates 23. Chic, another clown husband! 24. "In like" 25. Cumulus 26. On the high wire 27. I’m Dreaming of a white Christmas 28. Clippity-Clop 29. April Showers for Winter flowers 30. Where’s the Sanity Claus? 31. A Leek in the Oncology Ward 32. Let them tears flow 33. Silent Night, Holy Night 34. Swine Lake 35. Tap dancing in a minefield 36. Syncopation 37. Dr. Josephine and already 70 "guests" 38. "I want my clowns right now!" 39. A day with Coco-a-Gogo 40. Rituals 41. "Y’all should entertain in a zoo!" 42. Pierrette, alias Dr. Basket 43. I’m back 44. The gift of life 45. Excuses 46. "La vie en rose" 47. Dr. Dora, Dr. Sam, Dr. Balthazar and Co. 48. Crying Wolf with a Duck Call 49. Two Beauti-fool Flowers Open 50. Back Home with the Clown-Doctors 51. National Poetry Week 52. Reverse Psychology 53. The Art of Observation 54. Emotions 55. "Something has changed here" 56. Signature Le Rire Medecin Clowns Code of Ethics : Le Rire Medecin


About the Author
CAROLINE SIMONDS Caroline is one of the world's leading professional clown-doctors. Born in Washington D.C., she began studying Medicine and later switched to Theatre & Music at Bennington College in Vermont. She moved to Paris to study Mime with Etienne Decroux and music with Betsy Jolas. She was co-founder of "The Palace of Marvels", a street theatre company that toured Europe for 10 years. Later she founded "Pandemonium and the Dragonfly", a theatre of celebration and continued touring the world. From 1987 to 1991 she was one of the first clown-doctors to work with Big Apple Circus Clown Care Unit in New York City, the first professional clown-doctor company in the world.It was the first clown-doctor company in Europe. Currently Le Rire Medecin, employs 48 clown-doctors who work as an integral part of the healthcare team in 11 hospitals in France. They see over 40,000 hospitalized children each year. Caroline has written about her work for many French language journals and for The Lancet and British Medical Journal. In addition she is now training Doctors and Nurses at several medical institutions in France as well as assisting and supervising professional companies to develop new clown-doctor programs in hospitals. She is in demand around the world as a speaker and workshop leader. BERNIE WARREN Ph.D.He was born in London, England and has studied various styles of Dance-Movement and Drama-Theatre in UK, Europe, Canada and the United States. In addition he has studied Eastern Healing and Martial Arts for over 30 years and has taught Qigong and Tai Chi as areas of academic study and for health and recreation since 1990. Bernie is an internationally acclaimed researcher, writer and teacher on the role of the arts in healthcare and education. He has worked in clinical, educational and community settings worldwide. He is the author of numerous books and articles based on his 30 years of work as a teacher, artist and healer in various Community, Educational, Institutional and Theatrical settings around the world. His research and practice brings together his Eastern training (in Chinese and Japanese martial and healing arts) with his Western training (in psychology and the performing arts) in his work as a drama and movement specialist working with children with disabilities, seniors and people living with life threatening conditions (e.g. Cancer).


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"This book provides a close-up view of the emotional and rewarding experiences of clown-doctors working with hospitalized children. It describes the development of a new program in a pediatric hospital and all the challenges that confront clown-doctors. The book recounts work that takes place over a few months in 1999-2000. Most of the children that are described had been diagnosed with leukemia and other serious forms of cancer. They were hospitalized often and ran the risk of death." "This book is a tale of love and humor and of dealing with great traumas and tragedy. It tells of the immense compassion and the amazing resilience of individuals in the most stressful and debilitating of circumstances. It is a small window looking onto what it is to be human with all our strengths and frailties and of how complete strangers can become bonded to one another through laughter and pain." "The story presented here is based upon real case studies annotated with occasional commentaries to put these experiences into perspective. Above all else this book is a celebration and an homage to all the children, their parents and care-givers who have shared their lives with clown-doctors in many countries around the world." The Clown-Doctor Chronicles is written to 'speak' to people of all ages: men and women; professionals, trades people and homemakers in cities, towns and villages; for laughter and illness know no boundaries. It will be of particular interest to parents, artists in hospitals and anybody working with children (health care professionals, educators, psychologists).


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