03/18/2026
In my clinical work treating anxiety and OCD, I noticed something that stuck with me.
Many books, especially children’s books, about OCD focus on contamination and handwashing.
But that’s not what I was really seeing. Instead, many people including kids were quietly struggling with something much harder to talk about: intrusive, scary thoughts.
Thoughts that felt confusing, embarrassing, or frightening. Children especially are vulnerable to magical thinking.
Thoughts they often believed meant something about them.
That realization is what led me to create Milo’s Mind Monsters.
I wanted a story that could help normalize something many experience but rarely feel comfortable talking about. A story that could open the door for real conversations between kids and the adults who care about them — parents, therapists, teachers, and caregivers.
The book is a bit niche in some ways, but the truth is that intrusive thoughts are actually very common. Even children without OCD sometimes experience them.
Recently I read the book to my own son.
He’s a lot like me — someone who tends to process things internally. We tend to keep things to ourselves.
After we finished reading, he quietly told me that sometimes he has scary thoughts too.
It became a small but meaningful moment between us — one where he could see that those experiences aren’t isolating and that he doesn’t have to carry them alone.
That moment reminded me why I wanted to write this story in the first place.
Sometimes a book can give children the language they need to talk about things that feel hard to say out loud.
And sometimes it creates the space for a conversation that might not have happened otherwise. So if you have a child that is struggling with OCD or anxiety or know a child struggling with OCD or anxiety I appreciate letting them know about my book, Milo's Mind Monster: A story about worry, rituals, and bravery.
It's currently available on Amazon.
Milo's Mind Monster: A story about worry, rituals and bravery
