A Sneak Peek at AJ

I'm delighted to report that AJ the Armadillo is in the midst of being illustrated and, while I don't want to give any major spoilers, here's a little preliminary sketchy-sketch from awhile back so you can daydream about how adorable a little armadillo with anxiety will be.

First, let me say a couple of things about Rachel, the amazing illustrator for my Animals with Issues series:

• Besides being an incredibly talented artist, she's one of my closest friends and today is her birthday!

• She has written and illustrated her own kids' book called The Donkey and the Unicorn which I, of course, have a signed copy of and you should buy as well.

Next, because the idea for AJ the Armadillo came from a confluence of a few different aspects of my own life, I'd like to share some of my story with you.

I was seven years old when I had my first anxiety attack. For me, it was brought on by one of my least favorite pastimes: overthinking. As my mind circled around all of the doom-filled things that could go wrong in a certain situation, I felt my skin turn clammy as I began to sweat, got a bit dizzy, and started breathing rapidly. My mother, recognizing these symptoms, put her hand on my back to calm me and explained what was happening. I'm willing to bet that I was the only first-grader who could use the word 'hyperventilate' in a sentence the next day (and I did...) but just knowing that I wasn't alone, that I wasn't abnormal, that I wasn't dying, that I could get a grip on this feeling - that made all the difference for me. By educating me about my anxiety, my mother gifted me with the ability to start learning about 'anchoring' myself before either of us even knew what that concept meant.

In the decades that followed, I would never get rid of my anxiety but I would gain more tools to cope with its various manifestations. One of these tools was medication which did not come until my late 30s but, when it did, it gave me a new lease on life, and my intrusive thoughts dissipated in a way that I never knew was possible.

Because I believe that our mental health is just as important (if not more) than our physical health, I wondered how I might be able to help other adults educate the little ones in their lives about anxiety and how to deal with it when it occurs. My two youngest children have also struggled with anxiety and I am grateful to be able to help them with the lessons my mom taught me and what I later learned on my own, so I wanted to create a simple story that gives steps for children to follow in the moments of this uncomfortable and confusing experience.

While it may take another couple of months to get to production, I really believe AJ the Armadillo will be worth the wait. It's important to erase the stigma surrounding mental health and educating children as early as possible will help make that a reality.

-Stephanie

Stay tuned to the blog to hear about my other book in the works and the new and wonderful illustrator who I'm collaborating with to make that happen as well!

Finally, for those of you who don't know, the namesake for AJ the Armadillo is my own adult child AJ and I am incredibly proud to announce that, in the upcoming month, they're marrying their partner Remi AND graduating with their Master's degree from Indiana University!