Mary Jean Blaisdell, EdD, spent her life in Iowa, teaching children with special needs and eventually leading an elementary school as its principal. It was work she found both deeply rewarding and, at times, exhausting.

Looking for balance, she found her way to meditation and mindfulness. That’s where she stumbled onto the Five Remembrances, ancient truths about aging, illness, death, change, and the choices we make. Important stuff. Heavy stuff. And she kept thinking: Shouldn’t kids know about this too? And couldn’t it be at least a little bit fun?

That question became the A Walk With... series, five stories for children who deserve honest conversations about life, told with warmth, a walk outdoors, and just enough humor to make the hard parts a little lighter.