Why I Wrote This Book

It Started During the Pandemic

During the Pandemic my heart went out to all who were suffering from the loss of loved ones as well as the extraordinary effects of quarantining and isolation. But my heart felt a special sorrow for the children, ripped out of their classrooms and away from friends, learning in front of a screen, and with parents who were, no doubt, equally stressed from the pandemic as well. Having already raised my children, I couldn’t imagine how the parents of young children were handling this… the anxiety must have been through the roof!

I wondered what I could do to help and offered up a silent prayer for guidance. I thought that the answer may be in bringing neighbors meals or donating to food banks or charities that were organizing help for people. But the next day I woke up with the Molly and Omari series just sitting there on my mind and in my heart.

How My Own Childhood Anxiety Paved the Way for this Book Series

When I was five years old my identical twin sister begged my mother to let her use the electric can opener to open a can of dog food to feed our dog Mopsy. My mother had said no at first, but then finally relented. My sister then promptly cut her finger and began screaming. I was in the next room, not knowing what had happened. Horrified at my sister's screams, I ran into the kitchen to see my sister dripping in blood and then she collapsed onto the floor (she fainted). As a five-year old myself, I did not know what to do with what I was witnessing, and I thought she was dead! I ran back into the living room, dove face down into the couch, hiding my face in my hands, wanting this awful feeling of horror, dread, and utter helplessness to go away and my sister to be once again happy and healthy by my side, the way it always was. The adrenaline was rushing through my body (fight, flight, or freeze), and I could not stay still on that couch, so I ran back into the kitchen where I promptly fainted right beside my sister!

That was the first time I (we) fainted, but unfortunately, not the last. Fainting when feeling anxious was normal for me and my sister. When I was in the second grade, at recess, I swung as high as I could on the swing, then fearlessly jumped off. As I landed, my feet buckled from under me, and I rolled like a tumbleweed until I hit the corner of a wooden barrier on the ground that was protecting a tree. I broke my collarbone and, you guessed it, fainted. My gym teacher carried me to the school nurse to call my (poor!) mother.

Another time in second grade, after recess we lined up for lunch. I was wearing my girl scout uniform and it had been very hot outside. As I stood in line with my classmates, down I went, fainting in front of the entire class. Friends told me afterward that as I lay on the classroom floor, a boy was looking up my dress! I was horrified and humiliated.

These incidents are funny to me now and I am able to laugh at them, but back then, they were traumatizing. What's more, I had to figure it all out for myself. After years of such fainting episodes (several in the dentist chair) I finally became aware of what was happening to me, and in most cases I was able to “interrupt” the shutdown of my nervous system, due to simply being aware of when it was happening. But I did not learn to do this until I was well into adulthood. And, it was not trivial, interrupting this biological process. Little did i know at the time, there were already tools that could've provided me relief instantly - without waiting years and years to figure it all out!

As I navigated uncertainty as an adult, I discovered various tools along the way that work with your own energy and can calm you down in seconds – Yoga, Tapping (Emotional Freedom Technique or EFT), Deep Breathing to name a few. Each discovery had me thinking:

“I wish I knew this when I was a kid.”

And it had me asking:

“Why don’t they teach things like this in schools?”

School is all about learning. And learning takes a calm mind and body, so it makes sense that we could help our youngsters along by committing a few minutes a day to teach them simple exercises like yoga poses, tapping, or deep breathing, for example. I know that many teachers already do this in their classroom(kudos to you!), but wouldn't it be wonderful if it were more widespread and even an accepted practice such as going outside to recess or standing up to stretch after sitting for a long time.

Second Graders

For me, the most traumatic episodes at school happened when I was in the second grade. Thus, Molly and Omari are second graders who are also best friends and neighbors. They have fun adventures, mostly outdoors, and often get advice from a surprising source. In each book, they learn something new – a coping skill that helps them concentrate, or calm down, or relieve stress in some way.

Purpose of the Molly and Omari Book Series

The purpose of Molly and Omari is three-fold:

Provide a fun chapter book to foster the love of reading
Teach a new tool our kiddos can use right away – and on their own – to manage stress and anxiety
Foster cultural diversity by including and representing the wonderful and varied cultures of our world, woven throughout the stories

I hope you and your class or your children enjoy reading Molly and Omari and I would love to hear your feedback! Feel free to email me at patricia@MollyandOmari.com.