About
The Story
Fly me stories was founded in 2020 to create magical adventures for children who are unwell in hospital, hospices and at home. Since then it has grown into what it is today, encouraging positive mental health for everyone through words and art!
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The Idea
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Author and illustrator Dr Ffion Jones founded Fly Me Stories in 2020. Since she was little she has always believed in the magical power of stories and, for her PhD, she studied how literature can have a therapeutic function, providing a voice for the silenced. When her father was in hospital for an extended period at the same time as her daughter, the idea for Fly Me Stories grew.
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Recent research has also found that storytelling increases oxytocin and positive emotions and decreases cortisol and pain in hospitalized children. This means that storytelling is a simple intervention that may help alleviate the physical and psychological pain of hospitalized children.
https://www.pnas.org/content/118/22/e2018409118
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The Fly Me stories for hospitals are now used UK-wide in hospitals, hospices and at home.
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In this video Ffion talks to Carolyn Williams about the magical power of stories and how it all started!
"The idea for Fly Me Stories was sparked when my eldest daughter was in hospital with pneumonia. Hospitals can make you feel anxious and powerless so I told stories as a form of comfort and distraction. Once we left the hospital, the idea wouldn't go away.
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A few years later, whilst writing the Nurse Ted series, which explains serious illnesses to children, I learnt that the brain does not make much of a distinction between reading about an experience and encountering it in real life. I found this really powerful. It meant that a child in hospital, hospice, or at home, who is unable to leave their bed or room, could read fiction and feel like they are flying away on a magical adventure."
Fly Me Stories today!
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Fly Me Stories still provides personalised stories for hospitals, but now also creates stories, words and art to encourage positive mental health and wellbeing for everyone. Since working in primary schools and home education settings for over two years as a wellbeing coach, Ffion wanted to combine this work helping children to face anxieties with her life as an author/ illustrator. Through Fly Me Stories, she creates uplifting words and art that encourage self-belief and positive mental health.