“I’m a mom,” Taraji P. Henson said in her June 29 speaker session at the American Library Association’s 2024 Annual Conference and Exhibition in San Diego. “I mean, he’s 30 now—but once a mom, always a mom.”
That was just one of the reasons why Henson, an Academy Award–nominated actor, producer, author, and mental-health advocate, chose to write her debut picture book, You Can Be a Good Friend (No Matter What!) (June, Zonderkidz). She discussed her inspiration behind the book, her mental health initiatives, and the importance of letting others be seen and heard.
Illustrated by Paul Kellam, the book follows Lil TJ on her first day of school as she navigates making friends, handling bullies, and staying true to herself. Henson noted that telling this story and including its theme of mental health was part of her healing process as an adult.
“This is little me, this is my little TJ, my little girl inside of me that I’m finally giving a voice to,” she said. “You have to let that little child on the inside of you thrive.”
Conversations around mental health are new to many marginalized and underrepresented groups, particularly Black communities, Henson said: “[The book] is an icebreaker for parents and children to have these different conversations.” She added that she included mental-health resources in the book for readers to refer to as needed. “When our children hurt, we hurt, and we go into ‘fix-it’ mode. Well, you can’t fix something if you don’t have the tools,” she said.
Henson recalled an instance during her book tour when a young woman confessed that she had been a bully in the past. Henson pointed to a moment in You Can Be a Good Friend (No Matter What!) in which Lil TJ was contemplating her bully’s perspective. Lil TJ “chose empathy, and empathy is what made them friends,” she said. “She decided to take the high road and treat him like a human instead of [thinking], ‘You’re mean, you’re a bully.’”
That humanization of someone perceived to be a bully can be a stepping stone toward solidarity, Henson said.
“We gotta really start looking at each other, talking to each other, not judging, because everybody has a cross to bear. No one is perfect,” she said. “We’re losing humans trying to be perfect. It’s about taking each other in and allowing each other to be who we are. As long as you’re not hurting yourself or anybody, do it. You wanna wear a horn on your head? Baby, I’mma help you go pick it out. You want me to bedazzle it?
“That’s how you give and pour into other humans.”
