Not Fishy Enough: A Ridiculous Parable About Finding Worth Through Self-Acceptance by Briton Kolber
“Holy freakin’ snail shells! What is this book?” asked Edwin.
This is a combination of a slightly short novel for kids over 8 and a self-help guide for the people who care about them. There are subtle jokes for adults and deeper meanings to explore as well.
This story is about Edwin. He is an odd-looking fish. At least that’s what everybody tells him. Well, they tell him he’s a fish, anyway. Not much of a tail for a fish. The scales are wrong, too. The fins are a bit, well, grabby. More on that later.
“Wait what? Tell me now,” demanded Edwin.
Sorry, Edwin, you’ll spoil the adventure.
“Fine. I’m out of here.”
Now that he’s out of earshot, I can tell you that it’s about a crab adopted by fish growing up in an isolated tidepool with no other crabs. So, he grows up thinking he is merely an incompetent fish.
There is a section in the back of the book with discussion questions for many of the themes in this book. The questions are designed for classrooms, for mental health professionals, and for caregivers in general. In these pages, is an adventure of aquatic proportions. It’s about finding out who you are and figuring out what to do about that.
This highly unusual, but hopefully not too unusual, book is by Briton Kolber, a licensed therapist who specializes in helping geeks accept and find the best in themselves. In a world that may remind you of Finding Nemo, it explores themes found in The Ugly Duckling, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and Brené Brown’s The Gifts of Imperfection. If you are a fan of the pragmatic wisdom of Brené Brown or the humor of Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, or Christopher Healy (The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom) you will have a good time here. Illustrations by Nicoleta Dabijya add wonder and whimsy.
Briton Kolber is a family therapist focusing on geeks as a special population. He has taught Applied Improvisation at SAGA School, General Assembly, and Aspiring Youth/Ryther. He has done many odd things ranging from Research Scientist Associate at Applied Research Laboratories to Board Member of Washington Association for Marriage and Family Therapy to computer sales to performing regularly with ComedySportz Austin to working in the film industry in Los Angeles. He spent his youth split between mountains, culture, and extended family in Austria and a ranch, live-stock, space technology, and energy culture of Houston. In what little free time he has left after grand adventures with his family, he runs, skis, writes sketch comedy, has conversations with his cats, and tries not to set himself on fire while cooking.
Again.
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