Nova Scotia author launches children’s book representing her time as a parent

When it comes to raising kids, many people say the days are long but the years are short. This could not ring more true for Halifax author Briana Corr Scott, who knows firsthand that early parenthood is as hectic as it is heartwarming.

In her new children’s book, “While You Were Asleep”, Corr Scott captured those precious moments.

“It’s all about what happens at that time when your kids are supposed to be sleeping. So it’s really a story that celebrated all of the unseen things that the grown-ups have to do once the kids go to bed,” said Corr Scott.

Corr Scott said the book represents a 13-year-period of being a parent herself. While her three children are not babies anymore, she recalls how important it was to use her nap times wisely.

“I was working on renovation and realizing how much of that happened once our kids went to sleep. Our kids would take a nap or go to bed and then we would paint a wall or start something new on the house,” she said.

Coorr Scott says the story is about more than just the time in between naps. It’s also about how quickly time flies by.

“On the one hand it’s about the work and the labour of parenting but it’s also about those bittersweet feelings that you get when you think about your kids growing up,” she said.

Corr Scott often works while running household errands and uses her phone to write her stories.

Over the years, she has written six books. Those books focused on folklore and celebrating stories that happen in nature.

She said unlike those books, “While You Were Asleep” depicts reality. “[It’s] very much a story about modern life and what it’s like for families nowadays.”

Corr Scott, who is also an illustrator, drew the picture on each of the pages. She said she was motivated to represent all types of families in her illustrations. “I was very intentional with the characters in this book. I wanted to push as many different types of people and family structures that I could inside the 32 pages and it really was a struggle to get in as many people as I wanted.”

Corr Scott will be having an official book launch and signing on Sept. 23.

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