Marian student, 16, publishes children’s book

BLOOMFIELD HILLS — When Lila Shea was 12 years old, she decided to write a book based on some of the emotions she was feeling about her parents’ divorce.

Now, at 16, Shea has published her book, “Little Lola’s Beautiful Mess.”

“The story follows a girl named Lola who deals with some newfound anxiety and struggles with her parents’ divorce. I wrote this book when I was 12 and I was dealing with such a similar situation,” Shea said. “I feel so connected to this book because it is so personal, and my goal with it is to help kids like me who felt so alone in that position and didn’t know there were other people struggling with the same issues.” 

Shea, now going into her junior at Marian High School, said she spontaneously decided to sit down one day and write. Once she showed it to her parents, they encouraged her to publish it.

“I love writing,” Shea said. “It has always been an outlet for me to deal with anxiety.”

The process with Palmetto Publishing began when Shea was a freshman in high school. 

She said holding the book in her hands for the first time felt “surreal,” and just knowing that there might be a kid out there she can help through this book is so special to her.

Shea emphasizes that “Little Lola’s Beautiful Mess” was written by someone who was a young person like Lola.

She said she wants kids reading it to understand, “I feel them, I relate to them and they are seen.”

Once she published the book, Shea said her school was supportive of her.

“She has a strong sense of who she is and what she values, and she’s so competent in communicating those things,” Christina Krogh, Lila’s guidance counselor,  said. “While she wrote this story to process her own emotional response to something difficult, she shared it intentionally to help others. That expression of her values and beliefs is really aligned with our mission as a school and one of the things that makes me so proud that she’s a Marion student.”

Shea plans on continuing Lola’s story through more books. She has already written another one that will begin the publishing process soon. It’s about confidence and dealing with insecurities.

“Something I learned through this whole process is that I have a passion for helping young children, especially with mental health,” Shea said.

To young people who love to write, Shea offers the advice: “Don’t be afraid to take the first step.”

“Writing, no matter what the product of your ideas on the world and your own imagination — so no matter what — it’s beautiful, and someone will resonate with it,” Shea said.