Chris Marchand displays his first novel, Restoring Rebecca
Compassion fatigue is a condition that is relatively unknown despite being common among those in caregiver roles, according to research done by Dr. Chris Marchand, Professor of Youth Leadership at Providence College. He has completed his first novel, Restoring Rebecca, which explores compassion fatigue.
The idea for the book came to Marchand through his own experience of compassion fatigue in his work with teenagers, though at the time, he didn’t know what he was dealing with. He chose to research compassion fatigue for his doctoral dissertation. “I lived in my research for a whole year, talking to caregivers and experts in the field. But early in my writing it dawned on me that very few people were ever going to read my work. It bothered me. This was too important. I really wanted both teen and adult caregivers to understand how caring could effect them,” he said.
“There are so many caregivers who hear traumatic stories. In my research, I wanted to find out how trauma story affected the caregiver. Although I had experienced compassion fatigue, I never actually knew the condition existed and that there were actually symptoms. As caregivers, we often put ourselves second, thinking it selfish to care for ourselves, but self-care is an important part of care giving,” said Marchand.
In his research, Marchand interviewed caregivers from across Canada to understand just how caring affected their quality of life. He was shocked to discover that it had not even occurred to most caregivers that caring for others could eventually make them ill. “I wanted to use a story so that people could see themselves in the characters and consider making some changes to the way they care.”
Restoring Rebecca is a story of a teenage caregiver with a superhero complex. She always puts her needs last and after a particularly difficult week of caring for others, Rebecca comes to the end of her ability to care. She is faced with the question, “Is it time to stop caring?” The veterinarian who runs the animal clinic where Rebecca volunteers recognizes the signs of compassion fatigue and steps in to walk Rebecca through her painful journey of restoration.
“Writing the book was a fun way to turn academic research into an engaging and accessible story. As they read, I hope caregivers will find freedom from the ‘caring too much’ that I struggled with in the past. I hope that they’ll be captivated by the story, see themselves in the characters, and apply what they learn to their lives.” The book also includes a study guide to help readers engage the issues that are raised in the story.
Restoring Rebecca can be purchased at the Providence College bookstore or it can be ordered from Amazon.ca. Marchand has plans for two more books in this series that will deal with the issues of alcoholism and suicide. Currently, he conducts 2-hour workshops for caregivers. For more information contact Dr. Marchand at chris.marchand@prov.ca.
