Bette J. Freedson, L.I.C.S.W., L.C.S.W., C.G.P. is a clinical social worker and certified group psychotherapist based in Southern Maine. She earned her master's degree in social work from the Boston University School of Social Work and a B.A. in psychology from the University of Massachusetts.
Throughout her career as a clinician in private practice, as well as a speaker and writer, Bette Freedson has worked with hundreds of children, parents, adults, couples, and groups to help them relieve the stress that interferes with success in life. The knowledge she has collected from years of experiences working with single mothers, as well as from her own personal experience as a single mother, has provided the material for Soul Mothers' Wisdom: Seven Insights for the Single Mother.
A sought-after speaker and media expert, Freedson has been featured on radio shows, websites and magazines including "Spiritually Speaking," "Start Feeling Better Now," Education.com, Help Starts Here (the consumer website for the National Association of Social Workers), Woman's Day, Working Mother Magazine and Calgary's Child Magazine.
<p>A psychic medium once said that if you find a random dime, it is a sign that someone that you have loved and lost is thinking of you.</p><p><strong>A Dime is a Sign Through Time</strong></p><p><em>If you find a dime, </em></p><p><em>You will know that I'm</em></p><p><em>Sending thoughts of love</em></p><p><em>Through the veil of time.</em></p><p> </p><p><em>Ten cents with a silver shine, </em></p><p><em>A sense sent you to help remind</em></p><p><em>That someone who left you behind</em></p><p><em>Is always living in your mind.</em></p><p> </p><p><em>Sending love and vibes, </em></p><p><em>Felt as psychic sighs ...</em></p><p><em>The ones that you miss, </em></p><p><em>Send you a kiss ...</em></p><p> </p><p>Sherrill S. Cannon's second book of poetry contains messages written through the years in poetic form that put feelings into words. As a teacher, many of her poems helped counsel troubled teens and friends.</p><p>There are three sections in the book: Heads, Spinning, and Tails ... (Love & Loss: Coin Toss?). The variety of lyrical poetry forms include free verse, blank verse, haiku, and sonnets, while some are just playing with words!</p><p>Hopefully, this is also a book of healing.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Sherrill S. Cannon, a former teacher and grandmother of ten, is the author of nine acclaimed rhymed children's books, plus a recent award-winning book of poetry <em>(A Penny for Your Thoughts), </em>which together have received 63 national and international book awards since 2011. She also wrote seven published plays for elementary school children that have been performed in over 25 countries. Most of her children's books emphasize consideration for others. Married for 58 years, she and her spouse are now retired, live in Pennsylvania, and travel in their RV from coast to coast, spending time with their children and grandchildren, and sharing her books along the way!</p><p> </p>
Clinical social worker Bette J. Freedson shares insights she has identified through years of workshops, counseling sessions, and her own self-examination as a single mother.
<p align="center"><span style="font-size:10pt;">"This is a fine book full of support for single parents who have to face the job<br /> of raising children alone, and having to share them with another caregiver<br /> when they return to work.</span> <span style="font-size:10pt;">I would advise all single mothers to read it."<br /><br /><strong>T. Berry Brazelton, M.D.</strong><br /> Professor of Pediatrics Emeritus at <strong>Harvard Medical School</strong><br /> developer of the <strong>Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale</strong></span><br /><span style="font-size:10pt;">author of more than 30 books on child development<br /> former host of Emmy-award-winning TV show <strong><em>What Every Baby Knows<br /><br /> ~</em></strong></span></p> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:10pt;">"The responsibilities of single mothers can be daunting. <strong><em>Soul Mothers' Wisdom</em></strong> provides inspiring counsel to help them flourish. The stories and insights provide unique resources that will foster a stronger sense of self and more fluid access to inner resources. Practical and eminently readable, <strong><em>Soul Mothers' Wisdom</em></strong> offers a path for single mothers—and fathers—to reclaim their identities, and improve the lives of those who depend on them."</span></p> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><strong>Jeffrey K. Zeig, Ph.D.</strong><br /> director, <strong>The Milton Erickson Foundation</strong></span></p> <p align="center">~</p> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:10pt;">"Bette Freedson has written a winner in <strong><em>Soul Mothers' Wisdom</em></strong>.</span> <span style="font-size:10pt;">Her numerous insights and suggestions—gleaned from her own experience as a single mother as well as her years of practicing psychotherapy—are infused with compassion and wisdom. Her goal is to have women not just survive single parenting but instead thrive, and she succeeds wonderfully. <strong><em>Soul Mothers' Wisdom</em></strong> is thus the go-to guidebook for anyone navigating these often-confusing and painful waters."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:10pt;"><strong>J. Wesley Boyd, M.D., Ph.D.</strong><br /> author, <em><strong>Almost Addicted</strong></em><br /> faculty member in psychiatry, <strong>Harvard Medical School</strong> </span></p> <p align="center">~</p> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:10pt;">"For twenty-six years I've had a solo general practice of Osteopathic medicine. This has taught me and continues to teach me that the body's inherent mechanism has the wisdom and potency to heal. In <strong><em>Soul Mothers' Wisdom</em></strong>, Bette Freedson has given a flexible road map to access this soul's sparkle, the spirit of one's truth, the psychic intuitive wisdom and the realization of inner peace. This is a gift that will last forever and is useful to everyone. It transcends so-called self-help books, for it allows one to see the truth that life's friction gives us direction and is the centripetal force that keeps us on the spiral path."</span></p> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><strong>Tim Kingsbury, D.O.<br /> Kittery, ME</strong></span></p> <p align="center">~</p> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:10pt;">"Bette Freedson has written an enormously useful book on single parenting. As an expert clinician, she has illustrated her suggestions about single parenting with real life clinical cases. But most important, she describes her own experiences from shock and despair through adaptation after successful adaptation. This book gives advice and hope to so many overwhelmed parents traveling the same path. A must read!"</span></p> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><strong>Jack Weltner, M.D.</strong><br /> child & family therapist<br /> international lecturer on family therapy<br /> author, "A Structural Approach to the Single Parent Family"</span></p> <p align="center">~</p> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:10pt;">"As an educator, I particularly found the parenting advice on dealing with stress, building self esteem, and handling misbehavior to be on target and helpful. Single mothers will find this inspirational book to be a valuable resource."</span></p> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><strong>Rich Weinfeld</strong><br /> director, <strong>Weinfeld Education Group LLC</strong><br /> author, <strong><em>Smart Kids with Learning Difficulties</em></strong>,<br /><em><strong>Helping Boys Succeed in School</strong></em>,<br /><strong><em>School Success for Kids with High Functioning Autism,</em></strong><br /> & <strong><em>Special Needs Advocacy Resource Book</em></strong></span></p>