SLO LIFE Dec/Jan 2020

personally by the Big Guy upstairs. It was a story that was meant to
be, and it needed to be told. The words landed. They found a home
in young ears. The kids listened in raptured silence until the little girl
exclaimed, “That’s just like our mommy!” Ballinger knew the healing
process had finally begun.
Over the course of her career, Ballinger had retrieved the book—Two
Brave Cubs—when the situation called for it. Grieving children were
always the most challenging; she just wanted nothing more than for
their pain to end. She wanted it to stop. Nothing ever really worked,
but the story always helped. Somehow, it always seemed to come back
to the story; it always made things a little bit better and often marked
the beginning of the end. The day the sun began to shine again.
It has been said before by different people in different ways and at
different times: “Some things are just meant to be.” While the total
circulation of Two Brave Cubs remained at just one copy for nearly
two decades, Marcy Adams had always harbored a thought that
just never seemed to go away. She wanted to illustrate a meaningful
children’s book. Remarkably, Ballinger and Adams were both involved
during the start-up days of Hospice of San Luis Obispo, yet neither
could have predicted their future partnership. But, as they say, “Some
things are just meant to be.”
The author and the illustrator got to work on creating a proper,
professionally crafted edition of Two Brave Cubs. “The thing that
guided us was the enormity of grief that kids feel when they lose a
parent,” Ballinger shares. “Trying to do something to make it better—
that’s what propelled us.” And, to be sure, it did get them to a certain
point, but they soon learned that publishing a book was not a simple
DIY project. They both realized they needed to build out the team.
First, they brought on Julie Frankel to take on the graphic design
and page layout. Then, they reached out to Linna Thomas, who owns
Coalesce Bookstore in Morro Bay, as well as operates a small imprint.
With the foursome firing on all cylinders, Coalesce Press made Two
Brave Cubs available for purchase during its “soft launch” early this
year. While sales have trickled forth, the partnership has much larger
plans in store for the book. They have collectively committed to
keeping the price tag as low as possible—currently $9.99 each—and
plowing all of the proceeds right back into printing more copies. The
goal is simple: Reach as many grieving children as possible to help
them begin the healing process.
Beginning in January, the women are planning to do a nationwide
media push to bring attention to our most vulnerable during their
time of greatest need. The awareness that comes with the effort, they
hope, will lead to bulk sales to large institutions and organizations,
such as hospitals and schools and associations. Yet, no matter the
scale, even if all of the fuss and toil and effort only makes a difference
for just one child, the team agrees that the venture will have been
deemed a success. SLO LIFE
If you would like to support the mission of Two Brave Cubs by making a
donation or buying a book, you can find it for sale at Coalesce Bookstore in
Morro Bay or online at TwoBraveCubs.com.
52 | SLO LIFE MAGAZINE | DEC/JAN 2020