Amelia Frahm

Amelia Frahm is known for taking contentious, difficult topics and putting them in a format that children of all ages will find interesting, and that adults will argue about. She's the author of two award-winning children's picture books, "Tickles Tabitha’s Cancer-tankerous Mommy" and "Nuclear Power: How a Nuclear Power Plant Really Works!" Whether about cancer or nuclear power plants, her books make it easier to establish a dialogue. A breast cancer diagnosis at age 34 set her on a course for a career she never planned, and even prepared her for the highs, lows, and nausea that accompanied it! She first penned "Tickles Tabitha’s Cancer-tankerous Mommy" in 1994 for her own children. She soon discovered that talking or reading to young children about cancer was not a popular idea. The perception was that young mothers didn't need a book like hers. To get her story told she established the Nutcracker Publishing Company in honor of her best friend, Laura Bouldin Karlman, who died at age 39 of leukemia. In October 2001, "Tickles Tabitha's Cancer-tankerous Mommy" was launched on the "Rosie O’Donnell Show." Its release helped pioneer resources for families coping with cancer. But it didn't go without a hitch. While the book made it to the show, Amelia's appearance was cancelled due to anthrax. In 2011 she released the award-winning and controversial children’s picture book "Nuclear Power: How a Nuclear Power Plant Really Works!" Released in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear crisis, both the book and Amelia received harsh criticism from anti-nuclear advocates due to the book’s title and topic. The book was intended as a resource to explain the basic fundamentals of how a nuclear power plant worked. She called it a creative spin on the well-worn “How a Nuclear Power Plant Works” schematic that could be found in many science textbooks. She knew from their comments that her social media bullies had literally judged the book by its cover and had not read it. She responded by saying: "I believe that fear is fueled by misinformation and a lack of knowledge. If you have read my book you know it provides children an opportunity to learn about nuclear power in a format that is neither pro nor con, but fun and unbiased." Amelia is a contributor to the inspirational book "How We Became Breast Cancer Thrivers", and the creator of 'Crack Open a Book!", the first cancer education program written and taught by a cancer survivor. Today it also offers a nuclear literacy school program. In October of 2013 she was honored to be the recipient of the Susan G. Komen Triangle to the Coast: Maureen Thomas Jordan Spirit of Survivorship Award. She’s a member of the National Cancer Survivors Day Speakers Bureau, and a founding member of the Go Nuclear, Inc. Board of Advisors. The children who inspired Amelia to write her first children's book are now young adults. She, her husband, and their pug, Charleston Chew, reside in the mountains of East Tennessee where she is drinking too much coffee, eating too much chocolate, and working on another book idea.