Taline Dorna
As an Ontario Certified Teacher in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Taline Dorna was used to having a lesson plan for her students; always organized and ready to inspire each of her students and their learning styles anew each day. Unfortunately, life unexpectedly threw her a curve ball when her youngest child was diagnosed with retinoblastoma at 5 months of age. She came home to her then 3 ½-year-old and 2-year-old and found herself for the first time at a loss for words. After noticing that storybooks about childhood cancers were few and far between; Taline decided that if she put on her teacher hat she would be able to figure out a way to speak to her children on their level about their sibling’s diagnosis. The result of this discovery was Taline’s book, The Extraordinary Eye. Taline wanted to put out a hopeful message of awareness so that children would not feel stigmatized with their eye prostheses while raising retinoblastoma awareness. She wanted to create a storybook that would be a voice for her son and children alike, in order to feel good about their unique qualities and embrace their differences. The book is also aimed to be a great resource for teachers to talk about childhood cancer with students, helping children feel comfortable with change, and instilling confidence and acceptance in all children.
Taline is currently working on another children's storybook and other educational teacher approved workbooks on the side for a later release date. You can follow her on Instagram @mrs.talinedorna for up-to-date information.
Taline currently lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada with her husband Serge and their 3 children Sydney, Kaylee, and Logan. She has been a member of the Canadian Retinoblastoma Research Advisory Board (CRRAB) with The Hospital for Sick Kids since 2017, and along with her family she has participated in many different CRRAB activities. On her spare time, Taline works around her schedule to participate in CRRAB activities in order to learn more about retinoblastoma, meet other families, keep up to date on research and to help make a difference in the lives of others.
