The idea for the book came during Nicola’s time working in the gender-based violence sector, where she supported survivors along their healing journeys. During this time, she learned the importance of self-talk and self-compassion in recovering from abusive contexts. Realising the power of choosing to bring kindness for ourselves into daily life, no matter our context, Nicola considered the importance of intentionally guiding children towards self-compassion while they’re developing their own self-talk.

In addition to this, Nicola has been on her own journey with self-kindness, practicing it imperfectly since 2017 when a friend introduced her to Dr Kristin Neff’s work. Experiencing the benefits first-hand, she became an enthusiastic advocate of gifting compassion to ourselves.

And so, The Squishoos were born!

Their mission: Encourage children to be more self-compassionate by having an active role in their self-talk, because how we talk to ourselves matters.