Local mom turns pandemic frustration into children's book success
Tanisia Moore, a Birmingham mother of three, has turned her pandemic career change from attorney to children's author into a new way to inspire her kids and others.
Moore describes her move from practicing law to writing children's books as a "rebellious act."
Her latest book, "Wash Day Love," released earlier this month, was inspired by her own daughter who disliked getting her hair washed.
"I remember praying to God. Please do not give me any girls because I don't know how to do hair. And he gave me two. And with the middle one in particular, that second kid, she required me to do a lot of work," Moore said.
The main character in "Wash Day Love," Tasha, also requires a lot of work to get her hair washed, dried, and combed.
Through Tasha, Moore shows how a dreaded weekly chore can become a calming moment of cross-generational connection.
"And so it is an ode to the tradition. It is an ode to this rite of passage that is so ingrained within the black community," Moore said.
"So what I hope is that a young reader will see the beauty in their hair. Will see the beauty of what can be done when we go through this process," she added.
Moore had to learn to trust the process when she decided to change careers.
Although her law career was thriving, she longed for a more creative outlet during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Because people perceive being a lawyer as the safe job, it's this job that brings you a lot of money. It does this and that, but I wasn't happy. I was doing it because it was safe. I was doing it because that was the expectation of me," Moore said.
She wanted to create something she saw a need for.
"Reading books with my daughters, reading them with my son, and not seeing enough representation in the books that I was reading to them. Finding out that this book may have had a black character, but the author was not black, and so was kind of like, I need to figure out how to tap into this space," Moore said.
Her first attempt at being an author wasn't quite a success.
"Initially I was writing a particular book about adoption because my son is adopted and was thinking like, you know, I want to see more adoption books that feature black families as opposed to talking animals. And then I got rejected. Nobody bought that book. But then I wrote my first book, which is 'My Ancestors Wildest Dreams' and quite literally it has just taken off from there," Moore said.
From there, she's branched out to podcasting, speaking engagements, and even a lifestyle brand for mothers.
"So, in trying to find that balancing act, I've discovered that it really is an act. You just show up, give it your best, and that's all you can do," Moore said.