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A Laurel, Maryland, woman who already works in the education field decided she wanted to do even more to help kids — especially the ones who might struggle with mental health and anxiety; and she’s doing that in book form.
Sitting at a table in the Largo-Kettering library, where her book can be found, Re’Shae N. Green started reading about a moment in her book, which aims to help kids who struggle to handle their anxieties.
“‘You got this,’ says Emmel,” the main character says in the stories Green writes. “‘We’ve got this,’ said her friend excitedly.”
Green’s book is titled “Emmel Zealous Hip Hop Dreams,” and features a young girl who wants to be a dancer, but is nervous about bombing her audition.
Barnes & Noble’s description says: “She has the drive and talent but often finds herself overthinking her ability to succeed.”
The target audience is anyone 6 years old and up. Green said she wrote it because of her own struggles with anxiety as a child, and how she didn’t really understand how to cope with it until she became an adult. Her book hopes to help both kids and their parents overcome those challenges at a younger age.
“While I was a teacher, I was noticing a lot of students dealing with a lot of mental struggles that they did not know how to manage in the classroom or at home,” Green said. “A lot of parents did not know how to support them in that space either.”
Green also posts Emmel Zealous videos on YouTube that aim to help educate parents and children, and she makes blog posts on her website.
“I wanted to do something because a lot of kids now are into technology, so I want to be able to give them something that brings them back to just have them stay calm,” Green said. “Being able to create something where I’m able to give children something they can always go back to.”
It’s not exactly an autobiography, but the story is inspired by a lot of what Green went through herself growing up.
“I was a dancer myself,” she said. As she sat down to write she began “thinking about myself before I hit the stage, thinking about how I felt before going into auditions, and when I had to take on big tasks, and how that made me feel.”
“When I was able to get those tools, I felt a lot better before I would go and perform and things like that. So I want to be able to support children and parents who may be struggling with those same things,” she added.
Green said writing the book was empowering, but she admits that finding it in the Largo-Kettering library, the same library she grew up going to as a child, brings it all full circle. Based on the feedback she’s received from the book, she said it feels like she’s making a difference.
“A lot of parents come to me when they hear about my book and say that they’re really appreciative because they don’t have this — sometimes it’s the first time that they have even thought about mental health for their children,” Green said.
“So being able to touch people and educate them in that space and it not seem like it’s taboo — because a lot of people think that’s taboo, and think that children don’t have issues — they think that they have a perfect life. So I think it’s important for them to understand that they need support as well,” she added.
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