You might be wondering why I wrote Marco Swift and the Mirror of Souls. Well, let me explain…
Do you remember being in middle school? Was it all fun and summer vacations? Sleep overs, forts, exploring the forest, riding bikes with your friends, and adventures? You’re probably nodding your head a little. For a lot of kids, that’s what this age is all about, but that’s not the whole story. How many of you went through something hard around that age as well? A family member got sick or you did, you lost someone, your parents got divorced, a bully tormented you, or some form of abuse?
I think that a lot of adults forget that kids go through some hard things. It’s easy to not see how these things affect kids, because usually kids don’t know how to process what they’re feeling. They don’t often come out and say, “Hey, I’m having a hard time with this! I feel bad!” They might not know what they’re feeling or how to describe it. This can lead to some kids acting out by becoming more aggressive or quiet or neglecting school or something else. When you’re a kid and something bad happens you don’t really know how to deal with it.
This is why I wrote Marco Swift and the Mirror of Souls. Marco is dealing with the sudden death of his father and the mental illness of his mother. He feels alone and trapped and he just wants to get away from everything, but he also wants to make things better for his mom and sister. Kids have complex emotions. I know, I was one and I still remember what it was like. These years for me were full of adventures with my friends and feeling incredibly lonely, bad, and confused. I didn’t lose a parent, but my mom is bipolar like Marco’s mom and I experienced abuse at an early age.
What turned things around for me was when others took the time to be kind to me, to listen to me, but most of all, to love me. It was the love of others that led me to forgive myself (kids often feel guilty when bad things happen to them, even when it’s not their fault). When I realized that I was loved, that I was truly cared for, I knew I didn’t have to be afraid. I knew I didn’t have to escape. My guilt was gone and I had peace.
When you read Marco Swift, or your kid reads it, there is a lot of adventure and fun, because that’s part of childhood, but the reason I wrote this story was for all the kids who are dealing with hard things in life. I wanted to tell them that they are loved, that they can stop carrying that guilt, and that things DO get better.