Chantal Rochelle is a powerful girl who proudly wears many hats. A artistic producer, advertising and marketing strategist, and model storyteller, the Forbes 30 Beneath 30 and Webby Honoree can add youngsters’s guide writer to her record of achievements. On June 24, Rochelle launched “The place Did Grandma Go?,” a heartfelt novel that helps households work via grief and loss.
In 2019, she misplaced her mom and watched her 3-year-old niece attempt to make sense of what occurred, calling it the “hardest factor she has ever been via.”
“She was our anchor,” Rochelle expressed. “After she handed, my niece — who was solely three on the time — began asking these actually huge, considerate questions like, ‘The place did Numa (What she referred to as my Mother) go?’ or ‘Is she coming again?’ And truthfully, I didn’t at all times have the phrases.
“I wished to provide her one thing light however sincere, one thing that didn’t shrink back from the reality however nonetheless felt protected. That’s what sparked the concept for this guide. Her curiosity, her grief, and the innocence of these questions actually grew to become the heartbeat of the story. I wished to put in writing one thing that felt like a hug for youths making an attempt to know loss.”
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The thought to put in writing “The place Did Grandma Go?” got here rapidly after her mother handed. She wrote the primary draft in 2020, however sat on it for some time as a result of she was not able to face it head on.
“It felt too uncooked,” she mentioned. “Then in 2022, I lastly revisited it, did some rewriting, and poured much more of my coronary heart into it. It grew to become much less about making an attempt to ‘repair’ the ache and extra about sitting in it, honoring it, and serving to children really feel seen inside it.”
Rochelle talked about how writing her guide helped enable her to sit down in her unhappiness, against at all times making an attempt to be sturdy, and to mirror on the fantastic thing about her mother’s life – not simply the ache of shedding her. She cried lots throughout the course of however discovered it to be therapeutic. She wished to put in writing one thing sincere, and never simply “grief wrapped in a fairly bow.” In doing so, she mentioned she was lastly in a position to take a couple of deep breaths she had been holding in for years.
The recommendation she would give households who’re grieving a loss whereas nonetheless making an attempt to assist younger youngsters via the method is to be sincere with them, however gentle.
“Children are sensible, they usually know when one thing is improper,” Rochelle defined.
“It’s okay to say, ‘I’m unhappy, too’ or ‘I miss them on daily basis.’ That vulnerability will help them really feel protected in their very own emotions. And allow them to ask questions—even when the questions are robust. Create area for the exhausting conversations, the foolish reminiscences, the tears, and the giggles. Grief doesn’t look a method, and youngsters don’t want an ideal reply—they simply want your presence and your love.”
She collaborated with Hayley Cleary, an illustrator primarily based in St. Paul, Minnesota, to create the guide’s illustrations. Her objective was for the characters to really feel actual and acquainted to all households, and for folks to see their very own kin and experiences mirrored on this guide. Rochelle sees herself writing extra youngsters’s books sooner or later. She is actually related to tales that assist youngsters establish their feelings and really feel much less alone. She additionally has concepts for middle-grade fiction, and probably a memoir someday, however proper now she is absorbing the enjoyment of “The place Did Grandma Go?”
As talked about earlier, youngsters’s guide writer isn’t the one hat Rochelle wears. She works with Buzzfeed, and helped launch and lead Cocoa Butter, their Black tradition and leisure vertical. She labored with movie star expertise, influencers, and creatives to create content material that blends tradition and authenticity. She additionally labored with Warner Bros. main influencer advertising and marketing campaigns throughout each style, from horror to big-budget superhero films.
“I’ve partnered with creators and celebrities to craft digital moments that reach the world of the film into folks’s on a regular basis feeds,” she acknowledged.
“I like discovering the heartbeat of a narrative and serving to others convey it to life in their very own voice, whether or not that’s via a cinematic YouTube video or a quick-hit TikTok. For me, it’s at all times about affect and emotion—storytelling that sticks.”
Rochelle hopes that her guide brings consolation, not simply to youngsters, however adults as nicely.
“Grief is a kind of issues that connects us all, and I feel we’re all simply making an attempt to make sense of it in our personal methods,” she acknowledged. If this guide helps even one household have a significant dialog, or offers a baby a bit extra peace, then I’ve carried out what I got here to do.”
Rochelle’s guide may be discovered on Amazon.
