Parenting comes with nuanced challenges that don’t necessarily come with an instruction manual. Discussing emotional well-being and mental health with children can feel overwhelming, sometimes even close to impossible. Two local parents and authors are helping to bridge that gap with their children’s books that are all about social-emotional learning (SEL).
Linden Hills resident Marissa Bader spent the last eight years writing about mental health for various national publications. It was her own journey with motherhood, however, that first opened her eyes to appreciate children’s books. “I was incredibly drawn to how [children’s books] teach important life lessons in such subtle, digestible and impactful ways,” Bader says.
Marissa Bader. Photo: Angela Watts Photography
She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy. Bader first made the pivot to writing children’s books in 2021 after volunteering at her local school’s literary festival. “I had an idea inspired by my twins about individuality, identity and self-esteem,” Bader says. “After two editors saw potential, I decided to pursue it. That’s how The Only Me was born.”
The Only Me follows a pair of fraternal twins, Stella and Paige, who are constantly compared to one another despite not looking alike. This leaves Stella, the less outgoing twin, to question her identity in comparison to her sister’s. The story teaches lessons about individuality, self-esteem and other aspects of SEL, which Bader defines as a way to help children manage their feelings, build important relationships and make thoughtful choices by teaching concepts such as empathy, healthy communication, how to navigate emotions, problem-solving and self-awareness.
“I love how SEL equips kids with the emotional intelligence they need to navigate life,” she says. “In my opinion, these skills … shape how kids understand themselves, interact with others and handle life’s ups and downs.”
Fellow author Jessica Faith Graham taught her children self-care and self-love by first practicing them herself over COVID-19. “Like many parents during the pandemic, [I] found myself feeling lost and overwhelmed,” Graham, an Edina resident, says. “I wasn’t aware of how badly I’d neglected taking care of myself until I hit a breaking point. That’s when I knew something needed to change—and the change needed to come from me.”
Jessica Faith Graham. Photo: Jessica Faith Graham
Equipped with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts and education, as well as a master’s degree in psychotherapy and counseling, Graham, a certified mindfulness mentor, had the appropriate toolkit to make a change. She began walking for an hour each day, and after her body started moving, her mind followed suit.
“Writing began to pour out. What started as personal reflections transformed into something bigger as I posted them online,” she says. “That led me to think of my children. Was I teaching them to build their relationships by loving themselves?”
Upon asking her children how they showed their love, Graham was astounded that, although they mentioned their kindness and care toward others, there was no mention of loving themselves.
“I wrote The Love Inside for my children, all children and the child within each of us to help us discover that we already have the capacity for self-love,” she says. “Planting the powerful seeds of self-love in every child could lead to greater peace and harmony in a world that desperately needs it.”
As a lasting message, Graham insists that her books aren’t simply a reminder for children. “When parents read it with their children, it serves as a gentle reminder for adults to nurture their own self-love practices as well,” she says. “The most rewarding part of my work is knowing that I’m helping others find a more purposeful life.”
Find both books at wildrumpusbooks.com or wherever books are sold.
