“I write for the girl I used to be, the woman I’m still becoming, and the kids we’re raising differently.”
anh mian
Some stories are written to entertain. This one was written to heal.
In My Skin, I Shine is a joyful, poetic picture book created to help children feel proud of their skin, their story, and exactly who they are. It was inspired by the quiet moments—the side comments, the comparisons, the way colorism hides in compliments and traditions. My husband grew up hearing those things. So did I. And I knew I didn’t want to pass that down to our children.
So I wrote a book for them. One for my daughter. One for my son. Both written with the same message: Your skin is not too dark. It’s not something to outgrow. It’s something to celebrate.
There’s a girl edition and a boy edition because every child deserves to feel seen and celebrated in the stories they grow up with. This book is for the families breaking quiet cycles. For the kids we’re raising to feel safe, proud, and seen. And for the parents who are healing right alongside them.
I didn’t write this book because I had the answers. I wrote it because I was tired of pretending I was fine.
Girl Unlearned is a soft rebellion. It’s the unraveling that happens when you finally let yourself feel everything you pushed down for years. It’s about unlearning silence, survival modes, and the stories you were told about who you had to be.
It’s about what happens when you stop performing strength and start telling the truth. About healing from what you were never meant to carry. About choosing yourself, even when it makes people uncomfortable.
This book is for the girl who made herself smaller to be accepted. The mother breaking cycles so her children don’t have to heal the way she did. The woman becoming everything she was told she could never be.
Hi, I’m Anh.
A storyteller, mother, and cycle breaker.
I write for the girl I used to be and for the healing we’re passing on to our children.
