Sheila Stewart – författare

Sheila Stewart, singer, storyteller and author, is one of the last in the line of Scotland's travelling people. The way of life of the old travellers - tramping the country roads, camping in the woods, hawking, fortune-telling and temporary work on farms - has now all but died out. Before the memories melted away like winter snow, Sheila gathered from family and friends this wonderful collection of travellers' tales. Here are the stories that she and her parents used to listen to by the camp fire as the shadows of night clustered around. There are magical tales here, tales of hauntings and sudden deaths, tales of lovers and childbirths, tales of cruel hardship in a land where all too often the travellers were spurned as social outcasts.There are happy stories too, in which the travellers outwit their persecutors and prosper. Many of the stories recount true events that happened to Sheila and her relations. Running through them all is a vein of humour, laughter in the face of adversity. These aren't polite versions of folk tales that are suitable for the nursery or the Disney studio.They can be rough and tough and earthy, and show with unblinking clarity the rawness of life on the edge. But they have the grotesque and haunting imagery, the depth and power of the real folk tradition. This collection of stories, written down when they were on the point of vanishing into oblivion, has in it the potential to become a classic of its kind.

Tales of the dead feasting on blood and shape-shifting humans prowling around in animal form have been a part of the folklore of human beings for untold generations and all over the world. Vampires and werewolves are universal themes in horror lore. And our fascination with these creatures of the darkness has continued into a twenty-first-century world of space travel, computer technology, and advanced medical science. What is it about these beings that so inspire our fear and our loathing, our desire and our delight? Is there a place deep in our psychological makeup where the dead do not rest and wild beasts howl at the moon? The insights of modern science may help us understand our relationship with those things that both frighten and attract us, and perhaps tame the monsters inside us.

Autism is something a lot of people talk about these days. Many kids with autism have trouble communicating and understanding how people relate to each other. Since autism is a spectrum disorder, however, some kids who have autism might only have a few symptoms, while others may have many symptoms. Some people don''t know how to act around kids who have autism, but, even though these children might seem a little different than most people, these kids are still kids.

Autism is something a lot of people talk about these days. Many kids with autism have trouble communicating and understanding how people relate to each other. Since autism is a spectrum disorder, however, some kids who have autism might only have a few symptoms, while others may have many symptoms. Some people don''t know how to act around kids who have autism, but, even though these children might seem a little different than most people, these kids are still kids.

Kids with speech impairment sometimes find the world to be a very frustrating place. They can hear and see and understand what''s going on around them, but it can be very difficult for them to communicate with other people. Depending on the type of speech impairment, they might have trouble saying certain sounds or the words might get stuck in their throat when they try to talk, or when they try to say a word a different word might come out instead. For kids with speech impairments, there are various treatments and therapies to help them speak more easily. For those who know someone with a speech impairment, learning why he has trouble speaking can help them better understand what he is going through.

For kids with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, things like sitting still, paying attention, or focusing on homework can be huge challenges. Sometimes, people think kids with this disorder are "bad" or lazy and think they should just try harder. But, of course, it isn''t that simple. Kids with ADHD aren''t bad or lazy, they just have an extra challenge to overcome, and with help, that challenge can be overcome. Having attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder isn''t the end of the world, and kids with ADHD can still succeed in their lives, have fun with friends, and enjoy the world around them.

Emotions can be tricky things. Sometimes, a person has lots of negative emotions, and he doesn''t know what to do with them. Kids with emotional disturbance often don''t know how to deal with the overwhelming emotions they experience, and sometimes they react in inappropriate ways, disrupting their own lives and the lives of people around them. This can be scary for both the person dealing with emotional disturbance and for the other people. For all the people in the situation, understanding what is going on is important.

Kids with intellectual disabilities too often have to put up with teasing and name-calling. Some people don''t know how to talk to or interact with people whose brains work differently than their own. Kids with intellectual disabilities might have trouble remembering things or understanding how things work, but there are a lot of things they do understand. Things like friendship, love, and laughter are important to everyone, and that includes kids with intellectual disabilities.

Kids who are deaf or hard of hearing might not be able hear what''s going on around them, but their eyes give them a lot of information about the world. Some people who are deaf or hard of hearing might wear hearing aids or have surgery to help their ears hear better, while others rely even more on their eyes for help. People who can''t hear can understand a lot by watching people''s actions and looking at the expressions on their faces. They might also be able to lip-read or they might use sign language to communicate. Being deaf or hard of hearing doesn''t mean life is any less exciting and interesting!

People who can see with their eyes find it hard to imagine what life must be like for those with blindness or visual impairment. For thousands of kids, though, this is a reality. While some are born with blindness or some type of visual impairment, others lose their sight later on because of a disease, infection, or injury. For kids with blindness or visual impairment, life presents a unique set of challenges. Overcoming these challenges is easier with the help of adaptive technologies, but also with the understanding of friends and family who know that just because a kid is dealing with blindness or visual impairment doesn''t mean he isn''t still a regular kid.

A parent drinking too much alcohol can be really scary. Your mom starts acting differently and you don''t know what to expect anymore. You might worry that your mom is going to do something dangerous while she is drinking, that she might hurt somebody or herself accidentally. You might not know who you can talk to about how you feel. Even though the situation is scary, there are people who can help you and your mom get through it, so don''t feel you are alone.

If your dad loses his job (or your mom loses hers), it might not mean much to you at first. Parents have jobs, and kids don''t always think a lot about them. But having a parent lose a job can bring changes you weren''t expecting. Suddenly, your family is trying to save money and you can''t afford everything you''d been used to. Maybe your family has to move to a smaller house, or get a cheaper car. And, on top of that, your parents are probably worried and stressed. The situation can be scary for everyone, but it is one that many people have faced and one that you can definitely survive.

When a child becomes seriously ill, everybody in the family deals with the situation differently, and the challenges are different for each person. If you have sister or brother who is sick, you might feel left out, angry, scared, helpless, and abandoned. These feelings are all to be expected, and they don''t make you a bad person. Having your brother or sister get sick is hard on your whole family, and you are part of that family too.

Death is scary for everyone, and not just kids. When someone you love dies, you are likely to have a whole lot of different feelings and reactions. You might not believe it''s true, you might be really angry, or you might want to cry all the time. All those reactions are normal. It''s never easy to deal with death, and it''s not easy to know how to talk to someone else who''s dealing with it. Some reactions are more helpful than others, though, and talking to someone about what you are feeling can help you better handle the situation.

Life doesn''t always go the way you want it to. You mess up, people let you down, and things don''t work out. Anger is a normal response, but it''s not always the best one. When you get angry, sometimes you lose control, and that doesn''t help anything—in fact, a lot of times it makes things worse. Learning how to stay calm when you are angry can help you stay in control of the situation. You won''t ever be able to control everything (like weather and other people, for example), but figuring out how to take charge of your own reactions and emotions goes a long way.

How do you feel about yourself? It''s natural to have doubts and fears, and to worry that you aren''t doing perfectly, but it''s also important to really like who you are. Sometimes, people feel badly about themselves because they think they aren''t as pretty or as smart or as talented as another person. But nobody is going to be perfect. Nobody is going to be the best and the best looking all the time. Looking deep down and finding those things you really do like about yourself, and then building on those things, will help you feel happier and more relaxed and will also help you do better in life.

Some secrets are good and some are bad. When somebody asks you to keep a secret about something that makes you feel uncomfortable, you might not know what to do. Should you keep the secret because the person is your friend, or a member of your family, or someone older than you that you like and respect? Or should you tell someone like a parent or teacher? You might feel like you are betraying a person if you tell his secret, or maybe you are afraid to tell, but some secrets shouldn''t be kept. Some secrets cause a lot more trouble when they stay secret and the best thing you can do is talk about them with someone you trust.

Feelings and emotions can be confusing. Sometimes it can be hard to understand exactly what it is you are feeling, and that can be hard to deal with. For kids, feelings can be especially overwhelming. It is easy to just react without taking the time to think about what''s going on and what you''re really feeling. Understanding your feelings can help you figure out what to do about them and will keep them from being in control of you.

When parents fight, it can be very scary for kids, especially if one parent is hitting or hurting the other. Kids in this situation often don''t know what to do, whether to tell someone or keep the abuse a secret. It is especially confusing because the child usually loves both parents and then has conflicting and confusing feelings about what is going on in their home. Kids living in an abusive home need to feel safe and loved, and they need to know they are not alone.

For kids who have family members in prison, the emotions can be confusing and overwhelming. A person whose brother or sister—or parent—is in prison might be angry or sad or ashamed, or all these things at the same time. She might want to visit her family member, or she might be so angry she doesn''t want to see him at all. Often, kids who have a relative in prison don''t want to tell anybody what''s going on because they are embarrassed, and other people don''t usually understand what they must be feeling. Families all handle this experience differently, but each member faces a big adjustment, needing love and support from each other and from friends.

Divorce and remarriage are fairly common today, but for the kids whose family structure is changing around them it is never easy. Kids adjusting to their parents divorcing or remarrying sometimes feel like they are the only ones who have ever felt the things they are feeling. It can be very hard for kids to adjust to having their parents live in separate houses or to getting used to a new stepparent or stepsibling. Despite the challenges, many kids discover that these changes have benefits and bring good things they did not expect.

Single-parent families. Blended families. Gay or lesbian-parent families. Traditional families. Grandparents raising grandchildren. There are so many types of families today, all of them with their own challenges. Are nontraditional families new? Or did they exist throughout history in some form or other? And what makes some families strong, while others struggle? Are some families so nontraditional that they can''t really even be considered families? These are some of the questions this book addresses.