We were lucky to catch up with Ashleigh Abney recently and have shared our conversation below.
Ashleigh, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
The mission of Empower Books LLC is to encourage children to know they have inner POWER! Making my author debut allows me to have the space to create and inspire children through my current book and the books to come. I remember sitting down one night early into the pandemic and deciding I had a message and wanted to put it on paper. At the time, I was not sure what I would do with the message as I considered starting a blog and then quickly realized that was not the immediate route for me. Without a commitment of what the outcome would be, I sat down and started writing my manuscript. The rhythm of the words came to me so effortlessly, I was shocked! After contemplating many options and doing research, the dots aligned to have the privilege to utilize my message and vision to create a company and publish my first children’s book! As a mother of two young children, I see how adaptable, talented and amazing children are every day. I want each child to know they are strong and capable and that is why I created Empower Books LLC. We are just getting started yet we have so much more to come!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Ashleigh Abney and I am the creator of Empower Books LLC and author of “Girls Can!.” The purpose of the “Girls Can!” children’s book is to inspire girls to participate in sports. I am a former collegiate basketball player and participated in many other sports throughout my adolescent years. My sports journey began with t-ball and cheerleading and then transitioned to soccer for many years before ultimately switching full-time to basketball. As an adult and mom of a daughter (and son), I am passionate about building mindful and strong life skills within my children to enable them to thrive academically, athletically and mentally. For me, and many others, sports provided an amazing vehicle for establishing a foundation for all of those things. Through sports, children and young adults experience critical opportunities to pursue success in the classroom, the work ethic to be at your physical best to compete, build self-confidence, discipline, teamwork, friendships and so much more. I wanted a way to inspire young children to explore this avenue and to obtain all the valuable characteristics sports creates. “Girls Can!” has four diverse characters and the inclusive nature of the girls shines the light on the way sports brings us together. Additionally, the book features 14 sports with the intention that many girls would see “their sport” or a sport they enjoy included in the book. The neat thing about Empower Books is that we’re not going to stop here. The plan is to continue publishing books that empower girls and boys to be their absolute best in all avenues of life.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
The goal of my company, Empower Books, is to inspire children to maximize their inner ability and potential. The first book of this series (Girls Can!) focuses on girls finding their inner strength and tapping into their athletic talents if they choose to do so. This year (2022) marks the 50 year anniversary of Title IX which enabled girls and women to receive federal funding at all levels, from elementary school to college. This critical legislation opened the door toward equal opportunity for female athletes across the United States. Building on that, my first book is in pursuit to inspire little girls to continue to compete and take advantage of the sport opportunities that did not exist just a short time ago. It is incredibly important to me that girls know that they are powerful and they have the capability to athletically excel. With discipline and practice they can reach their highest potential and sports can help to lay that foundation. Today, girls are dropping out of sports at twice the rate of boys by their teenage years. There are various reasons contributing to this statistic including things such as, societal and social pressures, opportunity continues to be a gap in certain parts of the world, and lack of confidence to just get started. I’m on a mission for girls to see themselves being phenomenal through sports. This book is not just for girls, however. There is a strong following of parents of boys that have also enjoyed the book with the goal of their sons supporting, recognizing and encouraging the girls in their lives – which I think is incredible.
The second book under the Empower Books umbrella will be published in 2023 and will involve both boys and girls which will seek to inspire all children in a different way.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I have so many amazing sports moments and memories as an athlete – friendships, traveling, wins, you name it. With the highs of sports, there is that dreaded possibility that you can become injured. As a student-athlete in college, I was injured during my sophomore year and it was highly encouraged that I consider stopping my sports endeavors for my safety. I remained sidelined during my junior year in college and assumed the role of Student-Assistant Coach that year. Leading from the sideline was an honor and a privilege, however, playing basketball was my identity, my passion, and my therapy in a way…I loved it and I wasn’t ready to walk away. After several ‘second opinions’ and careful consideration, I decided to return for my senior year and successfully completed a healthy season to end my collegiate career. While remaining sidelined, I stayed in shape and built my mental mindset to be able to push through the fear of “what if” in order to to return to competition. This is just one of many examples of how sports throws real world scenarios at you at young ages which can build your character for years to come. A potential set-back became fuel to pause, rebuild, pivot roles and then resiliency and passion pushed me forward. As an adult, I am stronger because of sports and I hope all children can experience the same and most importantly, always have FUN.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.empowerbooksforkids.net
- Instagram: @empowerbooks
- Twitter: @empower_books