By Mariam Dembele
Chelsea Onyiriuka was four-years-old when she came home from school distraught. She asked her mom, “Am I beautiful? Why is my hair not long?” Her mother remembers how her daughter went on to say, “I don’t like my hair. My friend told me I am not beautiful, and she does not want to play with me.”
It was then that her mother, Mellisa Lambert-Onyiriuka, realized that Chelsea wasn’t too young to learn why her skin was considered “different to some and beautiful to those who understand true beauty.”
That was how Lambert-Onyiriuka and her daughter Chelsea came up with the idea to write Beauty and Me, a children’s book that tackles the issues of teasing and bullying, while teaching children about the power of self-love, self-confidence and compassion for others.“The message is to remind our girls who feel different, who have been bullied, teased and left out that ‘you are beautiful, loved and important,’” said Lambert-Onyiriuka.
Chelsea, who’s six-years-old now, hopes that“through this book, she can encourage and help her friends and children around the world to see their inner beauty.” The two also hope that Beauty and Me will inspire children across the nation to join the movement to “Stop Bullying and Start Loving.”
This was Chelsea’s first book. Her mother, Mellisa, is a life and business coach, and the author of Open Your Mouth and Speak and 8 Steps to a New You. “I believe there is a book in all of us waiting to be published,” said Lambert-Onyiriuka. She advises other young aspiring authors like her daughter to “keep writing, journal your thoughts, come up with creative ideas and write it all down. Because one day, the door will open for you to share your story, and talent through a book to the world.”
You can find Chelsea and Mellisa’s book Beauty and Me on their website www.AuthorChelsea.comor at www.ChelseaOnyiriuka.com. You can also follow the two on Facebook at Facebook.com/ChelseaOnyiriuka and Facebook.com/Mellisa.Lambert.
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Mariam Dembele is a freelance multimedia journalist with a passion for food, culture and current events. She has a bachelor’s in journalism from Temple University.
