A Note from the Author

If you picked up this book, you may already know the rhythm: the packing up, the hugs at the door, the tears when the car pulls out of the driveway, the way the house goes from loud to quiet after the "bigs" (older siblings) leave for their other home.

Maybe you've heard:

"Why do they have to go?"

"It doesn't feel the same without them."

"I miss them and just want them home!"

And maybe you've wondered what to say, how to make it better when you can't change the schedule, the homes, or the reality your littles didn't choose. It's heart-wrenching.

I know that feeling-because I live it. I'm a mom and stepmom to five children: three who stay and two who go. I've seen how transition day can bring sadness, frustration, anger, and longing, all wrapped into one small heart trying to understand a situation too big for them. I watch them grieve the transition each week, and as a mother, I have at times felt helpless.

I started to ask myself:

"Where are the stories for the kids who stay?"

"Where is the language to help them name what they feel?"

"Where is the reassurance that their family, even when split between homes, is whole and full of love? Also, just normal!"

I couldn't find it. So I created it.

Together with children's mental health therapist and behaviorist Amanda Gonzales, we built this story with intention by weaving lived experience and clinical insight to help children see themselves on the page, to help them feel understood in the waiting.

This book is a place to start.

Amanda and I are committed to creating stories and tools for the kids who stay: resources that bring comfort to transition days, language for overwhelming emotions, and reassurance that they can do hard things. Your child, with a little help and lots of love, can move through these moments with success!

So, on your next switch day when your littles come with tears and heavy hearts asking, "How many more days?!"-my hope is that you now have a beautiful story to share, one that helps them feel seen and supported.

Blended family life is tricky. We get it. And there are more stories coming, more tools, and more understanding for the moments no one seems to talk about.

Every one of them is created with one purpose in mind:

To help the Kids Who Stay.

I'm so happy you're here.