FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A Fayetteville woman has written a children's book after her stay-at-home mom life was clouded by depression.
Adriana M. Pineda's life changed when her daughter entered her story.
"Having her has really taught me like, hey, I need to slow down, I need to just take a second to get through these things. And not just get through them, but enjoy them and live through the process instead of just trying to get to the next part of it," Pineda explained.
Describing herself as a creative, fast-paced worker, Pineda says she would take an idea and run with it as an artist "Art by AMP." All would change though as she juggled caretaking and keeping to her passion of painting. Pineda was challenged to find a new way to paint to keep her daughter from making toddler messes.
"I picked up my phone and I started drawing on my phone because I was already paying for Adobe and I was like, I might as well use it," Pineda said. "I was like, 'Man, this is I could do this like this. This is something that I can actually do with her.'"
It was something new but necessary. She faced something many mothers know: depression.
"I started getting kind of depressed. And I was really just not enjoying being where I was anymore. And like, it's kind of hard to say, but it started feeling like a chore almost like robotic," Pineda described. "It started feeling like, Okay, I'm just going through the same motions. I'm not even taking care of, you know, my own mental health, my own enjoyment for life. And what I would like to do throughout my day, I'm just trying to get through it so that she can have, you know, her day and then we can get to the next day and start over."
With a new canvas and a renewed passion, Pineda then revisited her childhood dream of writing a book. She tells a story inspired by the bright light in her life, her daughter Soleia. Her book is titled "Donde Va el Sol" or "Where the Sun Goes."
Pineda describes her book on its Amazon page with the following:
"Where the Sun Goes' is a story following the sun's journey across the earth throughout the course of the day.
Let's see how the sun's day goes! This bilingual book teaches language skills in both English and Spanish. And shows children the sun's movements and the actions that follow below on Earth. A book perfect for story time before bed!"
With her first copies, Pineda placed copies around Fayetteville Parks and at little free libraries for anyone to enjoy. She wants to continue giving away books and has sponsorship opportunities on her website for anyone looking to help.
Now a self-published author, she wants to keep writing. Pineda says she already has another story in the works.
"To actually do what I wanted to when I was a kid. And to come full circle to that. And not very many people get to actually say they got to do their dream, you know, like and pursue that to the fullest," Pineda said.
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