Season Seven Bonus: A Journey through Adoption with Emmanuel Jean Russell

Emmanuel Jean Russell shares his adoption story and how his book Hello, I'm Emmanuel seeks to help all kids remember God is always with them.

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Valerie - Welcome to Book Worthy, where we talk about the heart behind the books your kids are reading. Today, we are talking with author Emmanuel Jean Russell, and he is the author of a picture book called Hello! My Name is Emmanuel, which speaks to Emmanuel's adoption story and how his name reminds him and can remind kids that God is always with them. Welcome to Book Worthy, Emmanuel.

Emmanuel  - Hello, thank you for having me. I'm so excited to speak about my book.

Valerie - I'm so glad to have you. I had the joy of reading your book before, and it is just really sweet to look at adoption. But before we get to that, we have to ask the random question of the week. And since we're getting close to Halloween, I wanted to ask, did your adoptive family dress in costumes for Halloween?

Emmanuel  - Well, we did dress in costumes for Halloween. What we would do is, my dad would dress like a farmer, and then we would all, all the kids, he would have a tractor, and we would all get in the back of the tractor and go through the neighborhoods. And so it was a lot of fun. We got a lot of candy, but the tractor ride was the best part.

Valerie - That does sound like the best part. Do you have like a most memorable costume?

Emmanuel  - I believe one time I was a scarecrow. So that was fun. Yes. Yes. The overalls. It was fun.

Valerie -There definitely are seasons of costumes. Remember growing up there, I thought clowns were a big thing, which can go good or bad. And so it's neat to hear about other people's experiences and how they incorporated just the fun that can be had in that holiday. So, well, Emmanuel, why don't you tell us a little bit about your book?

Emmanuel  - Alright, well, my name is Emmanuel, John Russell, and yes, I wrote my book. I wanted to find a way how I, because my grandma in Haiti, once she gave me up for adoption, I didn't really know what happened next. And I call it kind of shadow memories because I can't fully remember everything. Like if you're on the beach and you see a shadow, you sometimes can't, but you can see sort of what it is, but like you don't know the details. And so I thought by writing this book, her memories and details would more clearer. And so that's one of the main reasons why I wrote this book.

Valerie - It's a really sweet look at adoption and just kind of, know, adoption has so many sides to it and there's such a deep topic, but you walk in it in a childlike way, like a child would experience adoption and walking through, you don't not knowing exactly what's going on, but trusting in what your grandmother said about your name, that God is with you. And I love how that carries throughout the book. There are a lot of really fun illustrations. And what about the Haitian culture did you want to make sure was inserted in the book?

Emmanuel  - Well, the first was the colorfulness, like the colors. It's a very colorful country and I wanted to also, it to be beachy too, so I wanted it to feel warm. So the colors, hopefully, when you read it, you feel warm and you feel like you're there.

Valerie - Very neat. And then you kind of do a unique switch because you went from Haiti to the Pacific Northwest, correct? And go from beaches to mountains and snow. What was that transition like?

Emmanuel  -  Yes, it was. So I can remember when we're flying in, we could see, I believe it was Mount Hood. And I remember seeing that it was the first time I saw snow. And so, but it wasn't snowing when we landed. We landed in Portland, Oregon, and then we had to take a car ride over the Columbia River Bridge to go to Washington state. And so I remember it being misty and everybody had raincoats, but this time it was kind of colder, the rain.

Valerie - Now, kind of in writing this story and telling a little bit of your grandmother's side of the story, what would you hope to communicate to kids who pick up this book?

Emmanuel  - Well, what I'm hoping to communicate is that no matter where you come from, America, Haiti, or Africa, Asia, or any of the Latino countries, that you matter and there is a plan for you from the beginning.

Valerie - It's a story we all have to hear, no matter what our background is. It seems like no matter what life stage or socioeconomic place you come from, we all need to be reminded of our identity and who we are, and that we matter. And I love that this book does that in such a sweet way. What was the writing process like? Was that something that came naturally to you, or is that a challenge?

Emmanuel  - Yes, it was something that came natural because I did I had some writing school like writing classes in college and so But the pictures helped me because I had the memory so the the pictures kind of helped me to write it so That helped me out since it was kind of I just was ad-living a little bit, but yes

Valerie - I love how picture books can do that. They can make things that are hard to tangibly hold on to visible. I know when I'm writing, sometimes I have to just draw the pictures out, just so that I can put words to what's going on in my brain. Now, did you have any resources or things that are also included in the book?

Emmanuel  - Yes, so like there is an I spy page of Haiti the island so like you can I try to spy the characters throughout the book and then we have a resources where you can learn more about different organizations where you can like visit them because to adopt not everybody's called to adopt but you can give to these organizations and you can learn more about them to see if you want to it's a big it's a big step and so it's fun there's like five resources that can help you out

Valerie - I love that because it's, recently, Kevin did a set of friends that are big in the foster adoptive world here in the United States. It is, you think of adoptions being this really big calling, which it is, but there are so many ways to be a part of that community and to support that community and the people that are called to adopt. And I love that there is that opportunity for those of us who may not have that calling on our hearts, maybe yet or ever. Now with your book, it's really kind of walking through your story. Now, for any child who's going through adoption, whether international or national, what would you say to them as they read through this book?

Emmanuel  - Well, what I'm hoping is that they see that Jesus is with them and that even though it may be tough, like you might not look like your adoptive parents or whatnot or siblings, that this is where you're supposed to be and and just don't let that take out like don't let that take over

Valerie - I love that, what is it? There's a lot of talk about how we're adopted into Christ when we were coming to his family. And I love that picture of that adoption is a gospel story. It's not just, you know, know, helping someone live a life that they may not have had, but it is, you know, grafting them into your family. It's not someone separate. So I love that picture of heaven is almost communicated well through adoption stories and through your book as well. Now, did you always want to be an author, Emmanuel?

Emmanuel  - Well, what happened was I was just out of Barnes and Noble for my mom which you may know her as Karen Kingsbury I was there for one of her book releases and I went to the kids section because that's my favorite because there's pictures and so I was I scrolling through some of the picture books and I was like, wow These are pretty simple and I was like I have maybe a story that would go deeper for kids and if we have the right artist It could be something that could help kids learn that they matter and that they have purpose and so that's where I got kind of inspired to write the first draft.

Valerie - Very exciting. That's one of those places, the bookstore's a usual place I go when I'm needing a little, like where would my book fit in this shelf? And so it's neat to kind of look through and look where there's a need and to see a need. And I love that you saw that about your own story and how that can impact others around you as well. Now, what is your favorite book, Emanuel?

Emmanuel  - Wow, my favorite book. Well, it's called The Giver. It's like a, I don't know if you've heard of it. Yes, but I read it like in, I think high school or like, but it's, I just love the way the writer portrays The Giver. It's kind of, I don't know if he's religious, but like The Giver himself is kind of like Jesus where he takes everybody's pain, everybody's suffering and the town has given this but like basically you can kind of learn the town learns like you need those to be human like yes we don't like going through all that but like the past is not you can learn from it and so it's not a good idea just to take it all away but it's it's a very fun book.

Valerie - It's a very powerful book. My oldest read it, I believe, in eighth grade, and it's kind of one of those books that he's a reluctant reader and dyslexic. So getting him to read a novel was a challenge. And that was one of those, like, Mom, I need this whole series. And I'm like, yes, sir. You can have it.

Emmanuel -  Yes, and I also like yes, I also like anything Dr. Suess to so

Valerie - That's just always fun to read. I just couldn't imagine having a conversation with him. Like to have Dr. Seuss here and have a conversation. Would he be speaking in rhyme the whole time? That's just kind of how we, it's pretty fun to think about. Now, what's been one of the most impactful books of your life other than the Bible?

Emmanuel - Wow, most impactful books. Well, let me see. I have to think. That's a... Let's see, other than the Bible, okay, that narrows it down a lot because I've read, like I don't read too much, but like I've, let's see. I think it would have to be, there's this devotional, I don't know the name of it at the top of my head, but it was a devotional that just took you step by step, like every day you read one. And so that just helped me to like, kind of, if I missed reading the Bible, I could read that. But yes, it was like a devotional, Bible devotional. But that kind of is a Bible, so. Yeah, that's a hard question.

Valerie - It's a challenging one. It's kind of one of those, think an impactful book comes in seasons. So there's a book you're reading for a certain time, like, okay, this hit me. And if I could give this book to anybody, it would be this book. But yeah, it does change and over time, depending on what season you're in. But I love that you said devotionals. It's kind of one of those, we don't always for in the Christian family, we kind of want that routine of reading the Bible and doing devotions, but we kind of forget how impactful those little nuggets can be and those little moments just to remind us of God's truth and see it in new ways and help us grab onto those ideas that are just so big that they're hard to do. So I love that. Now, what can we expect next from you, Emmanuel?

Emmanuel  - Well, I do have two other little stories about when I first came to Haiti, I mean, to America, because of my living in the Northwest. So it's called Emmanuel's Frog Day, and I just hope that a publisher takes it, but it's just me trying to be a frog with my siblings on the last day of summer. And so it's called, I'm hoping that that is the next book that you guys get to read.

Valerie - That sounds like a lot of fun. I feel like you have a lot of stories that you could share with us about your journey and transition, and just learning to be a part of a family that you weren't born into. I think there are a lot of really precious stories that can be shared with kids, for certain. Well, where can people find out more about you and your books, Emmanuel?

Emmanuel  - Yes, so the book is available now on Amazon, Tyndale, anywhere that sells books, any retail stores that sell books. But Amazon is the big one.

Valerie - That's the big one for certain. We'll make sure to have links to that so that people can find it easily. And I look forward to hearing more from you and about more of your books soon, I hope.

Emmanuel - Thank you.

Valerie - Well, thank you for joining me today, Emanuel.

Emmanuel - Thank you for having us. It was a blast.

Valerie - And thank you for joining Emanuel and me on this bonus episode of the Bookworthy Podcast. Check the show notes for any books or links that we discussed, and let us know in the comments what your most memorable Halloween costume was. Be sure to like and subscribe to discover more great books together.

Happy reading!