A Mother’s Love Letter to Her Children

There are times when the stories behind the books are almost as wonderful as the books themselves. This is one of those times.

Veronica Waldrop was the mother of two little girls when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Toward the very end of her battle, she wrote a love letter to her children through the magical tale The Nuff (Tailwind Publishing, March 9, 2020). It was a way to let her girls have a lasting impression of the love that their mother had for them and the belief she had in them. It is also a book for all little girls to empower them to be bold and confident. As the dedication says, “To Natalia, Nina, and daughters everywhere. Know that you are enough…or a NUFF.”

The no-named Nuff in this book is an awesome looking blue unicorn with a broken horn. She is happy in a dress or wearing ripped jeans and sneakers. She has wild dreams and a caring heart. She isn’t perfect, something I think is exceptionally important. She messes up, gets frustrated, but keeps at it. Even when the world tries to push her down, she should always know that there is someone on her side, cheering her on, because she “will always be a NUFF.”

These days, our kids are over-scheduled and feel that they have to be perfect. They are either the best or they are worthless. I don’t know how this message keeps getting into their heads and why there is a such a need for them to be more than just kids, but it is the case. The reality is that we are all on a journey. We can’t make a decision about who and what we are when we haven’t been given the chance to experience life.

I don’t know about you, but I had ideas about who and what I was going to be when I was growing up and I wound up on a completely different path. I was able to try different adventures, made mistakes, some huge, and am now realizing a dream that I never imagined as a child. I’m in the midst of reading another awesome book, Proud: My Fight for an American Dream, by Ibtihaj Muhammad, and there is a part in her path when she realizes that it wasn’t her dream to be a doctor, but her parents’. Even when she followed one dream of her own, it didn’t pan out until she found yet another path that has given her happiness. We only need a cheering squad behind us letting us know that we are enough just the way we are.

The Nuff is a wonderful book for young kids to see. Celebrate them for being brave and adventurous, for being true to themselves. Make sure that they not only know that they are loved, but that they feel that love as well.