Jody Hulsey and Emmy Woosley have penned their first children’s book, “Of Life: The Rollercoaster,” after being inspired by the mind of a young girl at the local nonprofit Girls Inc.
During his time as president of the Girls Inc. board, Hulsey met a girl who created a roller coaster out of construction paper. As he looked through, he noticed the roller coaster had bits of purples, blues, and pinks — which meant things were difficult.
“She mentioned the purple [construction paper] meant that things were going okay or things were going to be great, and the roller coaster started on purple and ended on purple,” Hulsey recalled.
Hulsey said he was so inspired that even after two months after seeing the project, the girl’s optimism stuck with him, and he felt he had to write a poem to encapsulate her emotions.
Hulsey shared the poem and encounter with Woosley, who was amazed at the girl’s ability to craft her emotions both into words and art.
“So I asked Jody, ‘What if I storyboard your poem into a children’s book format?’ I had never done that before, but I did it and we had this badly drawn storyboard,” Woosley said.
From there, they called local illustrator Sarah Truman to craft some pages and start bringing the book to life.
The book follows Evelli as she rides the roller coaster of life and deals with the ups, downs, twists, and turns of her life, reminding herself of her purpose and power along the way.
Hulsey and Woosley also felt it was important to mention the tie to Girls Inc. as the source of the inspiration for the story. The organization promotes that they inspire all girls to be strong, smart, and bold.
As Evelli rides down the roller coaster, she chants the affirmation, reminding herself that she too is strong, smart, and bold through everything she encounters.
“When I put it into the poem, the idea was to write it as a positive affirmation. ‘I am strong, I am smart, and I am bold, and they will know,’” Hulsey said. “It’s this idea that all of us can tap into those ideas in moments when things get difficult. And I believe she does. It’s a nod to Girls Inc. and a positive affirmation for kids and the folks reading with them to read together.”
Themes like that are what Hulsey and Woosley hope readers will grasp from reading the book. Woosley said that ultimately whether a child or an adult, everybody has the power to be optimistic and persevere through life.
“We want everybody to remember that life’s not perfect, but you can be optimistic, and that things are gonna get better and every kid, every person is special,” she said.
Copies of the book are on sale at Windy Hollow Biscuit House, Mint Julep, and Kidstop locally. It is also available for presale on Barnes and Noble as well as Amazon.
