In My Home We Believe raises awareness and promotes respect, compassion, and empathy in a world of differing beliefs. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?

I have worked with children and families for a couple of decades in various capacities, more recently as a child therapist. In early summer 2020, I was in a therapy session with a 6-year-old girl who was sharing her experience of participating in her first march for human rights. She invited me to join her in shouting the statements she had learned. Mid-statement she stopped and said, “No Odessa!!! You have to say them from your soul!!!” Unbeknownst to her, I was having a hard time saying them not because I didn’t believe in the statements; but I was overwhelmed by her pure joy, love of life and enthusiasm to help others. It was also at that moment I realized the children of today’s generation have such unique challenges; but with their resilience and desire to help, they are going to make this world a better place. As a lover of children’s books, it inspired me to write “In My Home We Believe.”

The art in this book is fantastic. What was the art collaboration process like with illustrator Andrea Moore?

Thank you! Andrea Moore is a friend and former colleague where we worked together as child therapists. I approached her with rough sketches done by another friend, Natalie Nash. After discussing the vision and mission for the book, Andrea agreed to illustrate it. I am so grateful for her artistic skill and talent that brought the message of the book to life! The illustrations are colorful and represent a diversity of race, ethnicity, gender, abilities and cultures.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

The themes represented in this book focus on relevant topics that children are hearing about everyday; including Black Lives Matter, Women’s Rights are Human Rights, No Human is Illegal, Science is Real, Water is Life, Love is Love and Kindness is Everything. This book is a resource to help explain the meaning behind each statement in a way that children can understand and feel empowered. Andrea and I dedicated this book to children around the world and are donating 10% of the proceeds from every book sold to various charities that support equality, climate change, education and to end poverty and hunger.

What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?

Currently, we are working on translating In My Home We Believe into Spanish!!! We are hoping it will be ready for release next month, February 2022.

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