Poppins Parents: Alastair Moock

8/18/13 - By Tara D

It has been a while since our most recent post in the Poppins Parents series, but when we heard about musician Alastair Moock's latest project, we were inspired to share his family's extraordinary story. 

Last summer, one of Alastair's twin daughters, Clio, was diagnosed with leukemia. ​While summoning the strength to get through their own daily battles with cancer, Alastair and his family found a way to help other families who are facing similar challenges. He and his daughter Clio wrote a collection of songs that became the album Singing Our Way Through: Songs for the World’s Bravest Kids, which they have shared with hundreds of other patient families.

Read our interview with Alastair Moock to find out more about his project and how it started, along with what's at the top of his and his daughters’ lists of things to do in Boston. Then head to Medford on Tuesday for a free Alastair Moock Family Band Show, where Alastair will lead kids in a sing-and-move-along. Even if you can’t make the show, be sure to check out the album, Singing Our Way Through. It's a delightful collection of songs that kids with and without cancer will connect with – songs that have the power to help us all through the difficult times in our lives.

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MP: How did singing and writing music change the way your daughter and your family look at her illness?

AM: I don't know if it changed the way we look at her illness, but it's definitely helped us work our way through it. The project began with two songs Clio and I wrote together in the hospital ("I'm a Little Monkey" and "Take a Little Walk With Me"). The very act of writing together was therapeutic – for both of us. It was a way for Clio to be creative and express herself during a difficult time. I was amazed at the effect it had on her mood. Some of the other songs I wrote later after we returned home ("When I Get Bald," "B-R-A-V-E," "Have You Ever Been Jealous?") were my way of trying to help Clio and the rest of my family work through some of the issues surrounding cancer: the changing appearance, all the poking and prodding by doctors, the complicated sibling dynamics.

MP: What inspired you to turn the songs you wrote into an album, Singing Our Way Through: Songs for the World’s Bravest Kids, and to run a crowd funding campaign to make the album available to other kids with (and without) cancer?

AM: After many months of writing and collecting songs that reflected our experience — the fears, the joys, the love — I realized I had an album's worth of material that might be useful to other families traveling similar paths (and maybe even to families who aren't). I started the crowd-funding campaign in order to get the seed money I needed to make the recording. I had hoped that, with what I raised plus future album sales, I might make enough to send free copies to hospitals and clinics around the country. As it turned out, the campaign was far more successful than I had hoped. We ended up raising nearly $30,000, three times as much as I'd asked. It was an amazing start and it's allowed me to do far more outreach than I thought I could.

MP: In the midst of all that you have going on, you gave your time and talent to help raise the spirits of the city’s families and money for the One Boston Fund at the One Family Music Festival (presented by Mommy Poppins Boston) in May. What was that experience like?

AM: It was a very healing concert for all involved. We had some direct connections to the race that I won't go into but, needless to say, everyone in Boston was deeply affected. I was just grateful that Karen Kalafatas (of Karen K and the Jitterbugs) and Mommy Poppins Boston took the initiative to put something together that the rest of us could contribute to.

MP: Describe this summer of touring and playing for kids and families affected by cancer.  What kind of feedback have you gotten from those families?

AM: The feedback from patient families has been amazing. Those are the folks I made this project for and, when I hear from them that the music resonates, it makes all the hard work worthwhile. As for live performances, we've done a number of hospital and patient camp shows this summer, but we're still mostly playing to general audiences — and I love that, too. Obviously this isn't the only material we do at a general concert, but it's wonderful to be able to mix in some of these songs: "B-R-A-V-E," "This Little Light of Mine," and (when Clio performs with us) "When I Get I Bald." It provides some teachable moments, which I've always tried to make part of my shows.

MP: What do your twin daughters think of all the attention your family has been getting?

AM: We check in with them about it on a regular basis. Both Clio and her (twin) sister Elsa sing with me onstage during my shows whenever they can and they feel a lot of ownership over this project. That said, it is complicated, especially since we started getting more national attention — from Good Morning America and others. My wife (author/blogger Jane Roper) and I are figuring this out as we go. The love and support we receive, and the opportunity to pay that forward through this project, is very sustaining. But we've definitely had to draw some lines along the way.

MP: What's your advice for families with children who are struggling with cancer or other illnesses?

AM: I wouldn't presume to give advice. The fact is that every experience — and even every cancer — is different. We were just reminded of that at a patient family camp we attended in Maine last week. People are dealing with extremely different situations, prognoses, and family dynamics. What I think everyone who goes through this discovers, though, is that we all have reserves of strength and courage we didn't know we had. You would never ask for this experience, but going through it teaches you a lot about yourself.

MP: Which of the 100 Things to Do With Kids in Boston do you most want to do with your daughters this year?

AM: I'm actually impressed by how many of these things we've done! Speaking for the girls, I think seeing The Boston Ballet perform The Nutcracker would be towards the top of the list. (Dancing and a holiday theme together? They're in!) As for me, courtside tickets to the Celtics would be nice… Wait, was that an option?

MP: What’s next for the Singing Our Way Through project?

AM: The goal is to get this music out to as many patient families as we can. We've already sent hundreds of albums out, both directly to families and through hospitals, clinics, patient camps, and various service organizations around the country. There's a growing list at http://www.singingourway.com/institutions.php. We've been very lucky to get as much and as broad press coverage as we have, and that's alerted a lot of families and medical professionals to this project. It's put us in a position of sometimes being overwhelmed with album requests. And that's wonderful!


Photo by Matt Doris

For more Poppins Parents stories, take a look at our posts featuring Joy Olaes Suprenant, Ryan T. Debin, and Kristin Quinn. Do you know a local parent who makes a difference in the lives of Boston families? Email us