I’m a writer, a mom, a lifelong lover of books, and someone who believes deeply in the power of stories to help us make sense of the things that are sometimes hardest to understand.

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I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember, but the story that eventually became my first children’s book was one I never expected to have to tell.

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When my daughter, Austen, was five years old, she was diagnosed with cancer.

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During that time, books became especially important to us. They offered Austen an escape, gave us something familiar to hold onto and sometimes allowed us to simply be a mom and a little girl reading together.

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But there was another part of that experience that stayed with me.

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People showed up.

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Family and friends. Nurses and doctors. Hospital staff. People who brought meals, made Austen laugh, checked on us, sat beside us and reminded us—sometimes without even realizing it—that we didn’t have to carry everything alone.

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Years later, I found myself thinking about the book I wish I could have pulled from the shelf when Austen was five.​

 

A book where a child could be brave and frightened at the same time. Where she could play and laugh one day and be too tired to do anything the next. Where cancer was part of her story, but never the thing that defined her.

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And, most importantly, a book about all the people who help carry hope when it becomes too heavy to carry by ourselves.

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That idea became The Girl with the Golden Ribbon.

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Although Austen’s experience inspired the heart of the story, I hope its message reaches far beyond childhood cancer. I want children to know that courage doesn’t mean never being afraid. I want them to understand how powerful kindness can be. And I want them to recognize that they are never too little to make someone else feel seen, loved or less alone.

 

When I’m not writing, I’m at home outside Atlanta with my husband, Austen, and our dog—usually with another story beginning to take shape somewhere in the back of my mind.

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I’m so glad you found your way here.

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— Elizabeth 💛