Sue Badeau's culmination of a decades-long dream fulfilled with "Building Bridges of Hope: A Coloring Book for Adults Caring for Children who have Experienced Trauma"

For Michelangelo, it may have been the Sistine Chapel. For Don Larsen, it was probably pitching a perfect game in the 1956 World Series. For Alex Haley, most likely it was Roots: The Saga of an American Family.

Creative, mission-driven people pursue their vision with purpose and passion.

Most of us aren’t in the same league with Michelangelo, Larson or Haley, yet we too dream big dreams and pursue them with vigor. Our legacies may be found in the minds of students well-taught, gardens well-grown, highways well-built and other ordinary but invaluable contributions to our families and communities.

For me, Building Bridges of Hope: A Coloring Book for Adults Caring for Children who have Experienced Trauma, with my daughter Chelsea Badeau as the artist, being released this spring by Helping Hands Press is a legacy product and a culmination of a decades-long dream.

“A coloring book?” you might ask, “How can something as simple as a coloring book be a legacy product?”

I developed a passion for children with special needs when I was no more than a child myself. Reading the book, “The Family Nobody Wanted,” by Helen Doss at the age of ten was life-changing. From that moment forward, I’ve been lit internally by an unquenchable fire, burning with the desire to bring a message of healing and hope to every child who is hurting, perceived as different or alone. I’ve devoted my life to learning about, practicing and teaching others how to “build bridges of hope” for such children.

I am not a brilliant researcher, academic or clinician. But God has gifted me with the ability to learn at their feet and then to translate this knowledge into practical, usable tools for parents and others living with, loving and caring for children.

A coloring-book format makes it useable and accessible for the people who need it most – busy, often overwhelmed, parents and caregivers. I am passionate about getting this information and these tools into the hands of every parent, foster parent, relative, kinship caregiver, school teacher, social worker, lawyer, pastor, Sunday School teacher, coach and babysitter who ever spends time with a child who has experienced trauma.

I can’t wait to share it with you and I look forward to your feedback!