The Timbi books were written by sisters Trish Healy Luna and Janet Healy Hellier from 2014-2019. Timbi Talks About Addiction arose from a story written for young children in the family in the late 1980s as they struggled to deal with parental substance abuse. 

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In 2014, as the opioid epidemic filled our news feeds with stories of young children caught in its crosshairs, it became clear that the relevance of a story for children impacted by the family disease of addiction had not diminished. Janet has a master’s degree in mental health counseling and sought to revise and enhance the story to include evidence-based, trauma-informed practices and methods. We know first-hand how beneficial and empowering it can be for a child to learn techniques and self-soothing skills to gain a much-needed sense of control in chronically stressful situations.  

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Timbi Talks About Addiction was written in verse because the cadence brought a soothing element to a difficult topic. Once the wording was set, the manuscript was sent to additional experts for review. That team offered excellent suggestions and constructive edits which were incorporated into the final version. Finally, it was time to bring the words to life with illustrations.

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We contacted a young artist, Mackenzie Mitchell, and there was an instant rapport. Mackenzie was able to translate the challenging concepts into full color and perfectly deliver the nuanced expressions that the story needed.  And Timbi was born!