Interview: Becky Overeem talks about Is My Worry Worth Worrying About?

Becky Overeem grew up as the eldest of five adopted children. Born in Auckland, she spent part of her childhood living in Fiji and her teenage years in the Solomon Islands. At 18, she returned to New Zealand to attend Teachers College, where she met her husband, Yaron. When her daughters, Chloe and Sophie, were in high school, Becky trained as a school chaplain. Passionate about mental health and education, she now runs her own business in Whangārei, creating teaching and mental health resources. This is her first book, inspired by personal experience. Becky talks to NZ Booklovers.

Tell us a little about Is My Worry Worth Worrying About?

Is My Worry Worth Worrying About? is a story about a young boy who has had some big changes in life that has caused a lot of worries. Through the story being told, this is a practical book that outlines steps that can be followed by the reader to work through worries of all sizes. It is in the form of a children's book, but the topic and steps in the book can actually be done by anyone of any age who might be struggling with a lot of worries. It provides a good starting point and a process to follow. There is also a parent and caregiver support section at the end of the book.

What inspired you to write this book?

At the time I wrote this, I was helping a family member who had young children with a number of worries. So much so it was affecting their sleep, eating, behaviour and school work. After trying multiple strategies with the children, I gave the idea of doing a "Worry Book" - much like a gratitude journal, but the opposite.

The idea was to allow a quiet time in the evenings for the children to sit and express what they were worried about. Because of their young ages, these worries were written in their journals by their dad. Wanting to keep the bedroom worry-free, I suggested that this be done in a different part of the house. The journals were then put away in a chosen spot around the house symbolising that the worries were out of their heads and were physically placed somewhere away from them. Then, they went on with the bedtime routine, leaving bedtime and the bedroom for positive affirmations and talk. I then helped with ideas for sorting or fixing the worries. One day, after my family member left my house, I wrote the process we had gone through as a story. It had made a big difference to the children, and I thought it might help others too.

What research was involved?

My own teacher training and chaplain training in particular. The idea of the original Worry Book, to be honest, was just something I thought of to try. I felt at the time we needed something to allow space for the children to be able to freely express their worries and emotions, but to also 'take their worries away'. 

What was your routine or process when writing this book?

Because of this being the reality in our family at the time, I wrote the bones of the story in one day. However, I actually wrote it as a poem. I relooked at it the next day and tweaked a few things before finding publishers near me to take the risk of sending it to. Once this became something that was going to be published, thanks to Mary-Egan Publishing, we went backwards and forwards a few times with the editor. Through the process of editing and discussion with the publisher, we actually decided to take the track of making it more of a story to allow for more of the process to be included and more detailed information. Everyone agreed that it is a really important message. While sitting in a hotel in Queenstown for a week while my husband was at a Principal's conference, I rewrote the poem into the story it is now. 

How did you work with the illustrator, Sarah Trolle?

Sarah is amazing! Through the publishers, I was sent a list of illustrators from an agent. I spent about four days going through all the profiles and came up with a top five list to send back to the publishers to contact. Sarah was my number one so the first one they reached out to. She said yes! I honestly feel so incredibly lucky that she came on board. She has brought the story to life. We worked through emails and I learnt early on to be at home if I got an email from her because guaranteed I would cry! Good tears. :)

If a soundtrack was made to accompany this book, name a song or two you would include.

Definitely Three Little Birds by Bob Marley! I grew up in Fiji and the Solomon Islands so it's gotta be reggae! :)

And secondly, a personal message from me especially for children is the song Try Everything by Shakira. I love the overall message of that song and if taken to heart, could help children not to worry when it comes to trying new things, failing, making mistakes and having self-belief.

What do you hope families will take away from reading?

The book is really practical, and that was really important to me. It is a step-by-step process. Anyone of any age can do it or help take someone through the steps to work through worries. Getting things down on paper and 'out of the head' is always helpful to start with. Then you can work through the worries from there - some might end up being an easy fix, some might take a bit of thinking, and to be honest, some worries are just worries. The idea is to lessen the amount of worries if you can, because the emotions attached to worries are always big, heavy and negative. So, my hope is that it will be super helpful, easy to follow, and make a difference!

What did you enjoy the most about writing this picture book?

I have absolutely enjoyed being part of a team with Sophia from Mary-Egan publishing and Sarah. And of course, getting the illustrations from Sarah was pretty amazing! For me, this is still very much 'pinch me' even though we are at the release point, but how lucky did I get with this team?!

What did you do to celebrate finishing this book?

The day I received my advanced copies in the mail, my husband arrived home with flowers, and we went out for dinner!

What’s next on the agenda for you?

There is a second book on the way, much like Worry, but it focuses on talking back to negative thoughts. I'm pretty excited about it.

Mary Egan Publishing