Why did you want to tell Tara’s story?
Somewhere, I believe Tara’s story is also my story. And it’s likely the story of every child who grows up to become an adult with a complicated relationship with fear. All my life I’ve heard mine, and so many other parents and caregivers say, “Don’t be scared of that,” or “Why are you afraid? It’s just a ____.” But if we pause for a moment, we know that fear doesn’t magically disappear if we willed it to or disappear with age. Even as adults, we carry fears — of failure, of uncertainty, of authority figures, of losing loved ones, of making mistakes. Fear is part of our lives. So, why do we expect children to just brush it off? When it is left unspoken or unacknowledged, fear can grow in confusing ways, turning into anxiety, anger, or emotional shutdowns later.

This forms part of Unstuck, a series of wordless, pop-up books to introduce young readers to the realm of feelings including anxiety, fear, anger and loneliness

Even when children pick them up from adults, understanding and navigating those feelings is incredibly hard. If a feeling is experienced but isn’t named or explored gently, it can leave lasting marks that surface later. The question was: How should we start talking about feelings? At what age? How does one talk to a generation of children who are plugged into devices? How do we get their attention to have this slightly difficult conversation?