Facing our Feelings, a guest post by Abby Cooper

Everything happens for a reason. 

It could always be worse.

Look on the bright side!

How many times, when faced with a complex emotion or situation, have you been met with one of the above?

If you’re a person in this world, probably quite a few. And if you’re Mackenzie Werner, age twelve, of Serenity, Minnesota, you’ve probably heard these platitudes more times than you can count. Where she lives, positivity is everything. From the sidewalk inscriptions to the lessons at school to the seemingly endless supply of bouncy castles and chocolate fountains, Serenity pretty much screams (joyfully, of course) GOOD VIBES ONLY.

Which is delightful. Unless you’re Mackenzie and were born with a rare condition that causes your emotions to manifest as colors that surround your body. Mackenzie knows she has a great life. She knows that so many people are so much worse off. She knows she should be happy. And she is. But no matter how much sunshine-yellow surrounds her, it never quite feels like enough.

I know what that feels like. During COVID lockdown, when it felt like everyone was making sourdough bread and creating TikTok accounts, I was on the couch, depressed for what I considered “no reason.” My loved ones were healthy and safe, and in those scary times, that fact alone should have been enough for at least one awkward dance.

My feelings of sadness and fear were totally valid, but social media and our culture as a whole constantly told me they were not. Once you start to notice it, toxic positivity is everywhere – on t-shirts for kids and adults that proclaim “good vibes only,” at meetings for overworked, under-appreciated educators that ask you to “remember your why,” in songs and commercials and videos that basically demand that you smile (especially if you identify as female), and on, and on, and on.

Here’s the thing that took me awhile to learn: suppressing our feelings, or berating ourselves for having them in the first place, only makes those difficult feelings worse. Feelings are not mutually exclusive; it is possible to appreciate what you have and feel any number of uncomfortable ways at the same time. Acknowledging those feelings, and finding healthy ways to cope with them is SO much better for mental (and physical) health than simply pretending they do not exist.

As much as I tried to talk myself out of my feelings during lockdown, eventually I gave up on the inauthentic TikTok attempts and wrote the first draft of TRUE COLORS. Writing this book was my way of reminding myself that just because you’re grateful for a lot of things doesn’t mean you can’t also feel sad, frustrated, disappointed, or any number of other ways. Young readers who are constantly bombarded by the toxic positivity all around us need and deserve this reminder as well. It is truly okay not to be okay, whether we’re in the midst of a global pandemic or it’s just a random Tuesday. Maybe even more important is the knowledge that if you’re not okay, you’re not the only one. Everyone feels difficult and uncomfortable feelings, even if they have everything they could ever want or need. Even if their families are healthy and safe.

Even if they live in a town with endless bouncy castles and chocolate fountains.

The only real way to handle our feelings isn’t to go around them, but through.

Meet the author

Abby Cooper is the author of four middle-grade novels: Sticks & Stones, Bubbles, Friend or Fiction, and True Colors. A former school librarian, Abby now runs the new non-profit A Book of My Own (BookOfMyOwn.org) that aims to increase book ownership across Minnesota. Visit her online at AbbyCooperAuthor.com.

Facebook.com/AbbyCooperAuthor

@_ACoops_ (Instagram and Twitter or whatever it’s called now)

About True Colors

Turning Red meets The Giver in this novel about a town where everyone agrees to think positively—but one girl, whose emotions manifest as colors, can’t hide her true feelings.

In Serenity, Minnesota, everyone looks on the bright side, and that’s on purpose: to live in this town, people have to agree to talk positively and only focus on the good things in life. For twelve-year-old Mackenzie Werner, who has the rare gift of her emotions showing up as a colorful haze around her body, this town seems like the perfect place; she’ll never face the embarrassment of a grumbly grapefruit smog if everyone and everything is set up to be happy. But when a documentary maker comes to town and starts asking questions, Mackenzie, overwhelmed with emotion, can’t hold her haze back—and it explodes onto the whole town. Now everyone has their own haze, revealing their real feelings. As Mackenzie learns that emotions go beyond surface level, the whole town must reckon with what it means now that these true colors are on display.

ISBN-13: 9781662620614
Publisher: Astra Publishing House
Publication date: 05/07/2024
Age Range: 10 – 13 Years

Filed under: Guest Post